Wonderful
by Bookwormgirl202
Summary: Callie Jacobs always believed that nothing wonderful lasts, and so far in her life, she's had many things to help prove her point. Robert Quinn not signing the new papers was one of the newest events to help prove her point. The Fosters, on the other hand, believe that anything wonderful is worth fighting for. Which is exactly why they're not giving up on her. (REPOSTED!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So this is my first The Fosters story with an actual, continuous plot, and I'm really excited to write about this! I mainly enjoy writing series of one shots for The Fosters, and I decided to try something a little more… intense. Also, my last sentence is like TFIOS overload, so yeah. Tell me how you like it!**

**Hope you all enjoy, this is simply just the prologue.**

**Reposted because every time I tried opening this document, it wouldn't open.**

Prologue

The dark was a wonderful place to be. Because if you lie down and close your eyes real tight, you can really be anywhere you want to be. Let yourself think about anything, anyone you want, imagine that they're right next to you. Of course, everything wonderful ends, and it doesn't only end, it _rots. _Nothing wonderful can be permanent. Sometimes, her mother would tell her it's better that way; that it's so much more special because it rarely happens. She always told her, 'Wonderful moments are just like living things. We all die, because we're all too wonderful to last. But we always have the memories, which is what makes it so special.' Thinking of that now seemed so foolish to her. She wasn't that kind of person anymore. She wasn't the girl who believed in happily ever after. That's not who she was.

Who was she? She didn't know anymore. She preferred not to know. _What_ was she? In her opinion, she was a tossed around toy. Only temporary before someone would get bored, and send her away, not caring where she'd get shipped off to. Sometimes she thought she knew who she was, what she was. But it didn't take long for her ideas to disperse into the air like magic. As if it never existed in the first place.

Nothing wonderful lasts. That sentence had never had so much meaning, so much _honesty_ to her until this day. In her dreams, she was in a familiar place, a memory. She was racing her brother, trying to trip him so he wouldn't win, their mother watching them, laughing every moment she would glance away from her book.

She remembered that day so clearly.

_The sun shined brightly upon them, reflecting onto the metal from her toy swing set, which she unfortunately had the share with her brother. They count down together, backwards from three. Suddenly they both squeak out a loud 'Go!' and run throughout their backyard, the 9 and 5 year old giggling hysterically as they nudge each other. _

_And every laugh that came out of their mouths, their mother would recite, staring at them from the lawn chair by the swing set. She was so beautiful. A beautiful women, with a beautiful family, and wonderful children. _Wonderful. _Her bright eyes sparkled in the day light, her hair up in a tight ponytail. She wore a casual attire, dark shorts and white shirt. But it still made her look so ravishing, so elegant. _

_Everything would look beautiful on their mother. She was so jealous of her, wishing she could be as beautiful. She always told her mother, she always told her she was beautiful, she always said she hoped when she grew up, she'd look just like her. It was funny to her at the time, how she'd always answer the same thing, in the same ways. She'd smile, and place a strand of hair behind the young girl's ear, and she'd whisper. "You're already so beautiful, Baby. One day, I promise, you'll be even more beautiful than me." And the young girl would always smile, explaining how it could be impossible, but her mother would persist, telling her that nothing was impossible. And young girl would always listen, believing every word she said._

"Nothing is impossible," she would tell her science teachers when they would explain how no one could drive a car into space. "Nothing is impossible," she would tell her father when he would tell her mother how they could never pay their bills in time. "Nothing is impossible," she would tell her brother when he explained how he could never beat her at floor hockey. Nothing is impossible.

Innocence was another beautiful thing. The beautiful oblivion of a child. Thinking of all these memories now, enveloped by blankets as she laid in a bed, _her bed,_ in a dark room, _her new room, _they all seemed ridiculous. She was usually smart, how could she believe her mother. Yet, she remembered, every child believes their parent when innocence is still written across their forehead, radiantly alive in their hearts.

Never before has she ever felt more betrayed by anyone than by her mother when she realised how almost everything was impossible, how she never ended up being as beautiful as he mother, how the fact that nothing wonderful lasts makes it special. It doesn't, what would make wonderful things special, is if they _really_ did last.

Too bad they don't. She remembers the moment when she really knew what the meaning of her mother's words about 'wonderful' were the night she had died.

_She knew what the social worker was trying to say. Unlike her brother, it took her only seconds to comprehend what she was trying to explain. She was dead. Gone. No longer living. To most people, the definition of her mother's death was how she would no longer be breathing. To her, it meant to more goodnight stories, no more hugs and kisses, no more movie nights when they'd all sit next to one another on their tiny couch, eating popcorn and giggling. No more 'I love you's', no more singing in the kitchen and dancing in the backyard. No more crawling into her bed after a nightmare, and worst of all, no more Mom. No more Mom. _

_She wasn't one to cry, but there was no holding back. She cried loudly, hysterically. The women tried to comfort her, but she backed away, off the couch and into the wall, her brother still confused, staring at her with wide eyes._

"_I don't understand," he explained, starting to stand from his seat on the couch as well, moving towards his sister. "She's dead! She's dead! Dad crashed the car and killed her! What don't you understand, you idiot!" Never in her life has she called her brother an idiot in an actual, rude way. Never has she done it since. When he finally took it all in, he backed into the wall facing her, sunk down onto the floor, and sobbed, repeating the same words over and over again, "I want Mommy!" _

_The social worker, who was supposed to be used to this, who was supposed to be used to hysterical, crying children, seemed quite tense. She wanted to yell at her, tell her to get out of her house, to bring her to their father, but she had already explained how he would be having to go to jail. "This isn't fair," she repeated, running off into her room, throwing herself onto her bed, sobbing into her pillow._

_Her mother was right. Nothing wonderful can stay. But she wished that she could've stayed longer, had more time. She wished she could've held on a little tighter, lingered a little longer. It wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. From that moment on, nothing would be fair. _

_After what seemed like hours of crying in her pillow, she heard tiny footsteps walk into her room, causing her to take a small peek from her pillow, her eyes bright red. She saw her brother there, tears running down his face fast, not seeming to stop, one after the other. _

_She knew that her mother would want her to be there for him. She knew it. And she knew that she herself, would want to be there for him, too. She stood up, grabbed his hand and together they walked back into the room where the social worker was waiting, phone in a hand, a small smile spreads across her face when she sees them. _

"_That's it, sit here," she directed them back onto the couch, both of them clutching on each other's hands. "You are just _wonderful _children, aren't you?" _

Another memory exploded into her mind. It was just one, then the next, then the other. And it wouldn't stop. She remembered every time something's happened for the first time.

"_You're a little, dumb brat!" She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he slurred those words into her face. "What don't you understand from don't eat anything unless I give it to you!"_

"_I'm sorry!" The eleven year old yelped, unshed tears threatening to spill over, but she was persistent. Her brother was right next to her, and she denied letting him see her cry ever again, for a long time. "We were just really hungry, and you were sleeping. We didn't want to wake you!"_

_He laughed loudly, and if she knew better, she would've thought it was genuine. These foster parents were real good actors. "Well then you should've waited!" He suddenly grabbed her shirt and pulled her back into the wall, pinning her arms back, her brother just watched, shocked. This was the first time a foster parent had ever treated them in such way. Never once had they hurt them, never once has any foster parent touched them the way he was._

"_I'll wait next time," the girl spoke calmly, but nervously, trying not to say anything wrong. "Good. But here's to make sure you never do it again!" At first she expected him to give her food, to let her go. Instead, she felt a rough hand come hard against her face. _

_It was funny, she expected it to hurt, but it didn't. It was just numb, but that was so much worse. She would rather feel something, than nothing at all. "Go to your room and I'll feed you in an hour."_

_She didn't have to be told twice. She grabbed onto her brother's shoulders and took him with her, no reluctance on his part. As she tried to go up the stairs, every step was like stepping on sharp pieces of glass. She remembers how she stepped on a broken beer bottle as she tried to sneak some cookies up. _

_When she finally made it up to the room her and her brother share, she collapsed onto her bed, and buried her head into the pillow. The smack was beginning to make her head spin. A loud gasp caused her to unlatch herself from her bed. "Your foot!" _

_Her brother's word made her look down instinctively. At first she only saw skin, but after paying more attention she saw dry blood from the corners. Carefully, she sat on the edge of her bed and turned her foot slightly, so she could see underneath it. _

_She almost gagged at the sight of her foot. Glass cut open her skin, some pieces still stuck inside. Wet blood and dry blood everywhere, all over her foot. At first, she almost panicked. But then she remembered she couldn't. Her brother was in the room, and was most likely ever more petrified than her. When she looked up to catch a glimpse at his face, she was right. His face was pale and his eyes were wide in horror._

"_Don't worry, Buddy. I've got this," she lied, standing on one foot, heading to the bathroom she and her brother shared, grasping everything to help balance herself on the way, her brother rushing to her side to help her out. _

_There wasn't much their foster father had given them. He always said less is more. Bull shit. More is more, and it's the obvious truth. The eleven year old opened the cupboards over the sink, grateful she was tall enough to reach. Inside, she found tweezers, towels, some hydrogen peroxide and bandages. More than she could've hoped for. _

_After setting those things onto her bed, she asked her brother to wet the towels. He followed her orders immediately, coming moments later. Carefully, she washed off the dry blood, and any area around the cuts. Afterwards, she placed her towel down and took in a deep breath. Her shaky hands start removing the small shards of glass away, which wasn't as painful as she had thought. But now, the large, thick piece of glass just below her toes was still left inside her foot. The girl just stared at it, wishing that if she stared long enough, it would disappear. Wishing that all this could disappear. That she could be home. _

_Eventually, she realized how that would never work, how it was impossible and completely useless. Suddenly, she got angry. She mother had lied to her, this was impossible. The girl quickly ripped the piece out of her foot in anger, pain shooting through her, causing her to let out a shriek, luckily not loud enough for her foster father to hear. _

_The younger boy placed his hand on his sister's shoulder, grasping tightly. "Are you alright?" She wanted to yell at him. She just took out a piece of glass from her foot, of course she wasn't alright. But she remembered, her brother still had some innocence left, and she didn't want to take it away from him. Besides, she could never stay angry at her little brother in the first place. "Yeah, Bud. I'm just gonna clean it up now."_

_She took the hydrogen peroxide and started cleaning out the cuts. Surprisingly, it didn't burn much. She was starting to worry, nothing was hurting as much as expected. And she knew she wasn't strong enough for it to not be painful. "Buddy, do you mind handing me the bandages please?" She asked as she finished cleaning out the cuts. He immediately, rushed over to the other side of the bed to grab the bandage and hand it to her. _

_The girl wrapped her bandage around her foot carefully, the boy watching her observantly. "All done," she stated as she set the bandage on the bed, wrapping an arm around her brother, who leant his head upon her shoulder._

"_I wish Mommy was here," he admitted, a tear falling from his eyes and onto the mattress. She really wanted to comfort him, she did. But she couldn't say anything, it was as though her mouth was frozen, stuck together. Instead, she wrapped her arm tighter around him, internally wishing the same. _

Another memory overwhelmed her. The first time her brother had gotten bullied.

_Although she was 13, she could cook pretty well. This foster family had an internet, which made her search up recipes online, and even though they were never there, they had plenty of food. She really liked this family. They only came home late at night from work, and left early in the morning. A young couple, workaholics, unable to have children, so to have the slightest idea of a family, they would foster kids. They weren't bad people at all, they just were never there. If anything, she like it much better this way. For her, it was a glimpse of what would happen when she'd turn 18. She would take in her 14 year old brother, get a job, a good life. Everything would be alright. She planned it out, and she wasn't letting this plan go down. _

_Suddenly she heard the door open, and she knew it was way early to be her foster parents. The small figure of her nine year old brother proves her right. "Hey, Buddy!" She exclaimed, waving at him. "Hi," he muttered, his head ducked down, his back facing her. "I'm going to my room for a bit."_

_Immediately, the girl knew something was wrong. "Umm, go ahead," she spoke with fake confidence, watching as he climbed up the stairs. Once he was up, she set her pasta bag down and followed him, her steps quiet. Once she arrive, she noticed the door was closed. He never closed the bedroom door, sometimes he'd even forget when he'd be changing. _

_So, without any warning, she burst open the door. In front of her, her brother stood shirtless, bruises all over his stomach, chest and the worst, a cut right above his eye. Without any hesitation she walked right over to him, grasping his face into her hands, observing him. "Who did this to you?!" _

_At first, he stayed quiet, but he knew how persistent his sisters was. "Hey! Who. Did. This. To. You?" She yelled, forcing him to look at her, his eyes overwhelmed with guilt and fear. Eventually, she realized he was just as persistent as she was when he stayed quiet. She let out a small sigh, and looked down at his stomach and chest, bruises all over his body. The girl ran her fingers over them, but he pushed away, causing her to be surprised. Usually, he would be the more sensitive, touchy-feely one. "I don't need your help. I don't need you protecting me!"_

_He ran out the door and locked himself into the bathroom. All she could do was stand there, wishing his outburst hadn't happened. If their mother was here, she would know what to do. She always did. The girl decided to act oblivious for the rest of the day until her would finally explain to her what happened. She wasn't letting him anywhere unless he would tell her exactly what happened, and who hurt him._

_The only thing she hated more than the foster system, was her brother being hurt. She wouldn't tolerate this. She might even tell the young couple, they were stern, and they acted like they cared, so maybe they could help? But she wasn't one to ask for help. Her brother was her responsibility, no matter which foster home they were in. _

* * *

_The meal was fantastic. Maybe one of the best things she's ever cooked, and by how quickly her brother devoured it, she was pretty proud. After both of them finished, she brought the plates up to the sink and set them there, looking back at her brother. He just sat there his head ducked down, nothing but silence coming from his part, and she knew, this was her cue. She moved to sit on the couch, knowing if he really would tell her, he'd follow. And he did, he sat right next to her, their arms and legs brushing despite how much space there was left. "Who did it to you," she asked calmly, looking at him, his head still ducked down._

_After moments of silence, he answered her. "This boy at school. Brian. And his friends, too. Edward and Jake." He looked up to her, his cut healing slightly. She wondered what he tried to do to fix it. "Please, please don't say anything!" The girl tried to speak, but she didn't know what to say. She wanted to do what was best for him, tell the teachers, but she didn't want to get her brother angry. _

"_Baby, what he did was not okay," She explained, brushing a tear off his cheek. The boy nodded in acknowledgment. He knew that it wasn't okay. But he didn't want anyone to think he wasn't cool. His sister though, she wondered how nine year olds could possibly be this cruel. How could they pull this off in the first place? What kind of parents did they have? By all the foster homes she's been to, she knew there were many different types, and those were only three homes. _

"_Why did he do it?" She asked him, stroking his hair as he sat frozen on the couch, not leaning into his sister's touch, but not escaping it either. "The teacher asked him a question, and he got it wrong. Then, when Mr. Lockhart asked who knew the question, I answered and I got it right. So afterwards they came after me, calling me names, and I called them names back, trying to defend myself, but they just started hitting me." He spoke with no emotions, monotone. _

_The thirteen year old let out a sigh. "Baby." He just tuned to look at her, tears staining his face. "Why me? Why us? It's not fair."_

_Before she even thought about her brother's innocence, she answered him. "Nothing is fair, Baby. Nothing is fair." He didn't even bother mentioning their mother, she knew he was thinking about it. He slowly leaned into his sister's arms and cried, and she held him. She closed her eyes, and thought about her mother. Her wonderful mother. _

And then, the most recent memory flooded her mind. The departing of her family. The moment when she had to say goodbye. One of the hardest moments in her life. It was her mother all over again.

_The Latina wouldn't dare let go yet. Although one of their moms was waiting out in the car, ready to drive her almost daughter to her new home. Most likely crying herself, calling every lawyer she knew, all the cops. Trying her hardest not to let this girl be taken from them. And she wasn't going to stop until she could bring her home. _

"_This-isn't-fair," She chocked between sobs. The now sixteen year old girl was getting tired of hearing those words. She wasn't in the mood to explain to her how nothing was fair. "Look, I'm sure Moms are going to try their hardest to get me back."_

"_Oh I know that," the girl explained, tightening her grip on the girl. "I'm talking about how it's not fair for you!" This is why she loves them. Because they care, because they put her first when it's time to put her first, because they love her. _

"_It's fine. I'm used to this," she spoke the truth. She was used to it, but never was leaving a home as hard as this one. Especially the fact that she knew where she was going. She didn't want to go there, she hated them. "Well you shouldn't be!" The Latina's twin explained, his hands crossed over his chest in the back of them._

"_I have to say bye to everyone else," the sixteen year old explained, "I'll see you soon, I promise." And then they hugged again, both of them latching on tightly to one another until the older girl let go, reaching out for the Latina's twin. _

_Without any hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, holding on tightly, not wanting to let go wither. "I promise we'll get you back," he promised, "We'll fight for you, trust me." The girl nodded against his shoulder._

"_Keep an eye on him, please," She didn't even have to say his name for the boy to know who she was talking about. "Don't worry, you'll see him at school in the hallways, and I'll help with his homework, and Mama, too."_

"_I don't know if I'm still going to anchor beach," the girl recalled, still holding onto him tightly. "Yes you are, Mom asked him, and he says he won't change you." _

"_Yeah, and he also said he would sign the abandonment papers," she spat. "And he did. It's just Sophia who ripped them up, that spoiled brat." The girl managed a laugh, but she still felt bad._

"_Look, I'm angry at her, too, trust me. But I sort of feel guilty about saying those things. Even though she sort of deserved it." The boy just laughed and let her go, rubbing her shoulders slightly. "Bye, I'll miss you. We sit together at school?" _

_The girl nodded. "All of us. I'll miss you, too." After managing to let go of him, she went forward to her jamming buddy and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her back. _

_She didn't know how to feel about that kiss. She really didn't know. There was so much confusion. But they both agreed not speak of it. She knew how it would never happen again, she wouldn't let it. They were friends. Best friends._

"_Don't jam with anyone else, yeah?" She asks him, his arms tight around her waist. "I promise." They both look back and stare at each other before bursting out laughing._

"_You'll come back, I promise you," He states. "Oh, and I want you to keep that guitar." The girl looks at him, shocked. "No, no. I can't!"_

"_Please," he expresses. "I want you to." She just smiles and nods, hugging him even tighter. "We sit together on Monday?" _

"_Of course," He says. "I want you to tell me all about it." The girl nods and backs away. _

_This goodbye, oh this one was going to kill her. As if the others weren't bad enough. The second she places himself in front of her little brother, he wraps his arms around her waist tightly, burying his face into her neck. "We meet after school?"_

_The girl nodded, afraid if she spoke, she'd burst out sobbing. "I'm gonna miss you so much. Moms are going to bring you back, they have to," he speaks, his voice muffled by her neck. _

"_I'm gonna miss you, too, Baby," she says, thinking she would could manage speaking without crying now, but the tears fell anyways. "I wish I could come with you," he states, tears coming out of his own eyes._

"_I wish I could stay here," the girl manages a small giggle. "It'll be alright. I'll come home."_

"_Sweetheart," the voice of one of her mother's appears in the background. "Mom is waiting." With that being said, the boy tightens his grip around her, not wanting her to leave, but she pulls away, anyways._

"_I'll see you on Monday, two days, can you handle it?" She asks him stroking his hair one last time before she no longer belongs in this house. "Yeah, I can. Bye." _

_The girl smiles, and hugs him one last time. "Bye, Buddy. I'll see you soon I promise." After finally managing the courage to let him go, she walks over to the curly haired women, the one she was so proud to call her mother, but no longer. "I got my job back, so I'll see you on Monday, too. And Mom is going to visit, too."_

_The girl smile and nods, both of them manage a small laugh, at nothing in particular. Suddenly, they both wrap their arms around one another holding on tightly._

"_Baby, it's going to be alright. We love you so much, Honey." The girl nods against her mother's shoulder, tears spilling out quickly. "I love you, too. I promise I'll try not to get angry with them."_

_The older women manages a laugh and kisses her head lightly. "Good girl," she winks. "Don't do anything stupid either. But, and you know I don't encourage bad behaviour, can you try to get on Jill's nerves, maybe it'll increase your chances of coming home."_

"_Mama! How dare you?" the girl giggle sarcastically, but the women just stares at her, tears filling into her eyes. This was the first time she's ever called her that directly at her. "But I'll try my hardest."_

_They both laugh one last time. "I love you, Baby," the older women whispers, holding on to her tightly. "I love you, too Mama." After moments of staying like that, they separate, and dry their tears._

"_Alright," her mother says. "I'm going to grab your bags and put them into the car." She grabs the bag and leaves the house. The girl just lingers by the door, casting once last glance at this family, at her family._

"_Bye, I love you guys," She smiles, and leaves the door and she's about to enter her mother's car when she sees her blonde mother talking to someone who she despises deeply. The man who she will never call her father. _

"_Mom," she says, causing the man to cringe slightly, and the blonde's lips to tug up in joy. "Why is he here?" She acts as though he was nowhere near her site. Her mother's smile fades, and her other mother goes by her side, both of them latch onto one another without any reluctance. _

"_He, umm, insisted on driving you," the cop explained. But then she turns to her biological father. "Listen, Robert. Everyone got to say goodbye. And I know, this isn't goodbye, trust me. I won't let it be. But if you really love this girl let her say goodbye to the people she actually loves."_

_Without any other word, he steps back into his car, leaving the cop and the girl to say goodbye. "Lena, Love. Go check on the kids, please," she instructs her wife, kissing her gently before. "Of course, Baby. Bye, Honey." She blows a kiss to the girl, and both of them could almost hear their hearts breaking as the women walks through the door. _

_The second she's in the house, the blonde wraps her daughter in a tight hug. "I love you so much, Callie Quinn Adams Foster. And you are an Adams Foster, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." _

_The girl's tears spill over to quickly, she thought it was almost impossible. "I love you, too, I love you so much, Mom. This isn't fair," she sobs into her mother's shoulder. _

"_Oh, Baby. Nothing is fair, nothing is fair." And at that moment, the girl knew how alike she was to this women. She loved her so much. She was her mother, Stef and Lena are her mother's. Marianna and Jesus are her siblings, as well as Brandon, and Jude._

"_I'll see you Monday," she whispers into her mother's ear, and the women nods. "Alright, Baby. We'll see you Monday, and the next court meeting. We aren't giving up."_

"_I know. Goodbye Mom," she says and then she opens the car door of Robert's door and she enters. "Are you ready?" He asks her, smiling brightly, as if she had just finished visiting her friend's house. _

"_Yeah," she lies. _

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'll see them. She'll see her family. And right now, she drifts off to sleep, dreaming of all the wonderful things she had now, and she hoped to have for a long time. Some wonderful things last longer than other wonderful things.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind reviews I've received, I appreciate. For those who think this is a Brallie story, it's not. I don't ship Brallie, not hard core anyways. Actually on a scale from 0/10, I vote 1.2/10. I would much rather Callie be taken in by the Fosters. So yes, there will be Callie and Brandon sibling moments, but nothing romantic. At least not for now, unless Callie gets a rebellious streak or whatever.**

**So thank you to all my followers, the people who added this as a favourite and reviewed, I'm really thankful! Also, some of the people who followed me are some of my absolute favourite authors for The Fosters fanfiction! So I couldn't help but be happy! Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

It's not that they were bad people. No, they weren't. But they weren't _her _people.

In the eighth grade, Callie had one of the greatest math teachers in her life. She was kind, gentle; a caring women with a large heart. Every day, she'd come to school, a large smile plastered onto her face, the very same one from the previous day. It was as if it never left her face. Callie admired her for that. She never seemed to have her spirits crushed, when Callie's spirits were buried alongside her mother.

Unfortunately, she had to go on maternity leave, causing Callie to feel even less excited for school than she already was. But what really made Callie despise math class, was their new teacher. Mrs. Harding was an awful teacher. She would walk into the class, and immediately, everyone would lose control. They would talk, walk around, yell, throw things from one end of the room to the other. It was utter chaos, and complete distraction. And as all this was going on, Mrs. Harding would never have the chance to teach. She was too busy trying to get the children to pay attention.

Now, don't get the wrong idea, she was a great person. She would always let students hand in late assignments, and feel bad about herself for not giving the children enough time. She would give every child, no matter who they were, too many chances. Callie couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was so vulnerable, pitiful. Too many kids treated her class like a joke. They would step all over her, and then make her feel bad about it. But there was nothing Callie could do. It wasn't her fault Mrs. Harding was an awful teacher. She was a good person, but an awful teacher.

The same concept applied for the Quinn's. They were good people. When Callie arrived into their home, they helped her unpack, trying to make conversation. Robert even tried to hug her goodnight before she crawled into her new, oversized bed and cried herself to sleep. Sophia was also extremely giddy, as usual. She spoke the Callie the entire weekend, barely leaving her side. Callie couldn't help feel awful for Sophia either. She didn't seem to have many friends, and if she did, they must've not been good enough to include in the autobiography of her life. Jill tried to be helpful as well, she would ask Callie if she wanted new clothes, if she wanted to watch a movie, what she wanted for dinner. She was almost _too _nice, like people would be when they try and get on your nerves.

Robert was the most ignorantly nicest of them all. He would be act completely oblivious to the fact how only hours ago, she was with the Fosters. He would come into her room every few hours, ask if she needed anything, but she'd just shrug, no words escaping her mouth, afraid that if she spoke, she'd start lashing out on him.

The Quinn's were not bad people. Living at their home, felt more like sleeping over a friend's house for an undetermined amount of time. The Quinn's were not bad people. They just weren't her family. It was as simple as that. They were not her family. She found herself reminding herself about how she could be with the Fosters almost every minute.

Every time the Quinn's would do something, she would compare it to the Fosters. When Robert would walk into her room, a smile on his face, asking if everything was fine, was just like watching Lena walk in as her and Marianna would be laughing about a silly joke. Every time Sophia would speak about school, explaining to her about how her favourite subject was math, her mind seemed to drift off to Jude, who's always had difficulty in that subject. Every time Jill would try and make a silly joke, she would think of Stef, whose jokes came out genuinely and didn't feel forced, unlike Jill's. It wasn't hard. They weren't her family. They never could be.

She understood, though. She understood how Robert wanted to get to know her, get to love her. But she wanted to make _him_ understand. Understand how no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he desired the smallest, tinniest strand of her love, he would never receive it. Her love, it didn't belong to him. _She _didn't belong to him, so neither of them he would receive.

"Callie?" asks a high pitched voice. "Are you listening?"

"Huh?" she manages to choke out, dropping her fork onto the silver platter, nibbled eggs and pancakes tossed around all over it. "I'm sorry, Sophia. I was just…" She doesn't know how to continue. She couldn't tell her about what her mind was wandering off to. She didn't want to hurt her, she felt too awful.

It was odd. It was odd how the moment she arrived into the Quinn's home after being ripped out of the Foster's care, the only person she couldn't seem to be angry at, was Sophia.

She was furious at Robert. He was the one who had the power to make the actual decision. It was up to him, not to anyone else. Her future lied in his hands, and here she was, being forced to let him rip her away from the only comfort zone she's had in years. Yes, she understood he wanted to get to know her, but the only way she was going to let him do that, was if she was happy.

There was an uneasiness she felt towards Jill, as well. She never seemed to be genuinely…pleased. She never seemed anything genuine at all if you'd ask Callie. Her shoulders always seemed to upright, her smile too wide. There was always something which made Callie uncomfortable about her. No matter what mood she was in, there would always seem to be a chip on her shoulder.

Sophia was different. Unlike her mother, where everything seemed to be less than genuine, everything about Sophia, was genuine. She was so fascinating to look at. There wasn't any shard of innocence, taken away from her. Not one bit of the fantasy world ripped away from her mind.

Ever since the death of her mother, at the gentle age of ten, innocence couldn't even be a thought in Callie's mind. If reality hadn't hit her in the head at the speed of light, then there was no chance she would've still been alive. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all?

"Thinking about the Fosters?" The way she spoke, in complete desolation and hostility, made Callie flinch. She never knew she had it in her. Maybe she was more like her than she thought? Everyone at the table had their eyes on Sophia. Just as Jill was going to open her mouth and scold her, Callie beat her to it.

"Yeah," she said, no anger initiated in her voice; she sounded more monotone than anything. "I was thinking about them." This was the first time she had spoken about them this freely in the two days she's been in their oversized house. It felt good, to say their name aloud than have it echo throughout her mind almost every second.

The table was silenced after her words, everyone either shoving food into their mouths, giving a reason not to speak, or looking down onto their plate, pushing their food around with a fork. No one daring to ruin their perfect family breakfast before any of them could finally disperse from the awkwardness which surrounded them. Leaving for work or school, excited to no longer act ignorant or oblivious about the tension in the thin air of the Quinn's home.

"Alrighty!" Robert spoke after chewing the last bite of the rich pancakes Jill had baked. "Let's get you to school, yes?" Sophia nodded lightly, smiling brightly at her father, acting as though the last moments had never happened. The Quinn's had a specific talent for being ignorant. Callie just nodded plainly, letting Jill take away her platter and disappear into the kitchen. Callie could almost feel the loud sigh she must've let out once out of sight.

"Soph," Robert began, moving to kiss her head. "Marisol is coming to drive you to school. I'll drive Callie myself." Callie felt a certain weight erupt in her stomach. She was not looking forward to the car ride she had to be a part of.

"But, I thought she could drive Callie to Anchor Beach," Sophia whispered, her face dropping from a large smile to an instant frown. Callie wondered if it was even possible to change emotions as quickly as she had.

"She will once Callie gets used to it here," Robert explains, glancing from one daughter to the other. "But for now, I'll be driving Callie to school." Callie feels her stomach drop once more. This would be more than a onetime thing.

"Oh," Sophia commented, her voice raising slightly. And suddenly, she was smiling again. "Alright!" It was weird. _How could she change moods so swiftly? _Callie wondered, looking at Sophia with curiosity.

"Sophia, Baby," Jill called from the kitchen. "I see Marisol's car. Say bye if you don't want to be late for school!" Sophia quickly jumped out of her chair and leaned in to hug Robert, saying a small 'goodbye.' And then, she turned towards Callie, almost looking as if she were to hug her, but then she quickly, shivered, yelled out a bye and walked away, leaving the older girl completely speechless.

"Umm," Callie began, changing subject. "When are you going to drive me?" Callie asked looking into Robert's eyes. Right now, she wondered whether her eyes were more like her mother's than Robert's. Everyone used to say how much she resembled her mother, people still used to say it. It was kind of painful, being compared to a dead person. But this dead person was her mother, and she wouldn't mind being compared to her mother ever. Even if she was an alien from a complete different planet.

"Now." Just the thought of being able to see her family made Callie want jump for joy. Two days and it felt like two years. It was just like when her mother had died, every second felt like an hour in purgatory. Callie lifted herself from her seat, grabbing her bag from the floor and walked out the door, not caring to say bye to Jill, or speak another word to Robert.

She walked over to the car, leaning herself against the hot door of their dark Mercedes. Was this what being rich felt like? Being able to get whatever you wanted without working it, without deserving it. If so, she hated it. Everyone should only receive what they deserved. Unfortunately, the world didn't seem to work that way.

Suddenly, Callie hears a _click, _motioning her to enter the car as the door was unlocked. She didn't want to waste another minute of being away from them. Her first period class was with Brandon, and she couldn't wait.

As Robert sits in the driving seat, Callie places her earphones on, looking out the window, not wanting to be bothered. At first, she expected him to rip them out of her ears, wanting to speak to her, not to mention the Fosters again. Instead, he just looked at the back of her head, let out a sigh and began to drive away, to Anchor Beach. It was a long drive, so Callie just closed her eyes, and let her mind wander off to memories.

* * *

"_This is stupid," Mariana inquired, sitting next to Callie on the floor. "Game nights are stupid." Callie managed a laugh. Mariana always had something to say, even when she was speechless, she would find something to say only seconds afterwards. Whether it was criticism, sarcasm, gossip, whatever was on her mind she would speak it. Definitely one of the most straight forward people Callie had ever met. _

"_Hey now, Miss Thing," Stef beamed, rolling the dice for Monopoly. "You're only saying that because you're looooosssssiiiiiinnnnggggg!" Everyone in the circle chuckled, causing Mariana to roll her eyes in annoyance. _

"_Please Mom, you're not any better than I am, you're only one spot above me," Mariana remarked, pointing a finger at her game piece, the metal car. "True. But I'm not a sore loser!" _

"_Okay, guys, okay. Let's continue, who's after Stef?" Lena asked, looking into Jesus' direction. "Jesus?" At his name, Jesus looked up from his phone, looking utterly confused._

"_Hey, no Jesus. How many times have we told you? No texting at family game night!" Lena exclaimed, reaching across to grab his phone from his hands, placing it behind her._

"_What, no!" Jesus countered, reaching over to get it back. "I was texting Haylee!" Mariana snorts. "Figures." _

"_You know, she's your friend!" Jesus says, looking at her from across the circle. "Friend's, good ones, don't go making snobby comments like 'figures'," Jesus mimics the last words in Mariana's voice, causing her to roll her eyes once more. _

"_Whatever, Jesus. Just roll the dice." Jesus glares at her, but listens anyways, knowing how obnoxiously persistent his twin can be during moments like these. He rolls a three and moves his piece, the dog, forward. When he lands on 'go to jail.' Everyone makes a loud noise, making him roll his eyes. The twins did that a lot. "Oh, be quiet."_

* * *

Callie never thought she'd miss family game night as much as she did. Callie never thought she'd miss the Fosters as much as she did.

* * *

She didn't bother saying anything as she exited out the door, walking to where the Foster's would park every day, and Robert didn't bother stopping her, driving away to work, glancing at her from his rear-view mirror, before she was completely out of sight.

Once Callie arrived, she could already make out someone in the distance, and in the way they were running towards her, made Callie know she was right. She opened her arms widely, as did the other sand they fell in one another's arms.

"Never. Leave. Me. Alone. Again!" Mariana expressed, holding on tightly to the girl, but Callie giggled, the first genuine laugh she's had from someone, something that wasn't a memory, in days. "Oh, come on. It can't be that bad! You've lived without me before!"

"Yeah, but now that I know you, I can't live without my sister," Mariana spoke kindly, still latching onto the girls neck. Callie just let out a small smile. She missed Mariana, too. It was hard letting go of the things she cared about. And unfortunately, she had to do that too much.

Suddenly, she feels another pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Jesus. "Jesus!" Callie laughed, turning to wrap her arms around him. "How was it?"

Callie doesn't really know how to answer his question as he wraps his arms around her. It wasn't like she was burning in hell, but in a way, she was. And it wasn't like she was in paradise either, but in a way, she was. "It wasn't half bad. But I missed you guys like crazy!"

"We missed you, too," Jesus spoke softly, wrapping his arms around her even tighter, afraid if he'll let go, she'd leave again. "Did Robert get you a new phone?" Mariana asked, pulling out her phone to add Callie's new number.

"Yeah, here," she said handing Mariana her new IPhone five S, causing the girl to let out a loud gasp. "Damn, girl. He's treating you well. I wish I could come live with you, pack Moms in my bag."

Callie laughs again, one arm still around Jesus. "Yeah, I wish you could come, too. Umm, where's everyone else?" Mariana and Jesus share a look, a look Callie knew too well to avoid, to let it slip past her. "Guys? Where's everyone else."

"Mom went to see the lawyer, to set a court date. About your…situation," Marianna said the last words cautiously. "And Brandon's in the music room."

"What about Jude and Lena?" She asked, feeling a little panicked. There was something she wasn't telling them, and her mind was wandering off to different things that could've happened to them.

"Jude has the flu," Jesus explains, an arm still draped over her shoulder. "And Mama is taking care of him." Although it wasn't as bad as she thought, her heart still broke it half. She hated not being there for Jude when he needed her, just before she left, she noticed Jude had been acting drowsy and tired. She hated herself for not noticing sooner, even if there was nothing she could've done to stay, she could've done _something._

"Is he alright? Is it bad?" The question's slip out of Callie's mouth instinctively. She would always take care of him when he'd be sick after their mother died. It was always her who would do it best, and he didn't want anyone else taking care of him in the first place.

"Well it's not bad enough to take him to the hospital, but he has to stay home," Mariana explains, walking with Callie and Jesus to through the doors of their school. "He really wanted to come today though, to see you. But Moms told him that he was too sick. He got really disappointed, I don't think I've ever seen him so…sad."

"Wow Mariana, good job at making Callie feel good," Jesus bickers, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders. "What, Callie wants the truth! Right Callie?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Did he say anything about me other than he misses me, I mean I used to take care of him when he was sick all the time," Callie babbles, her words getting caught up in one another. "I feel bad, not being there for him you know."

Jesus thinks about it, his mind wandering off to the previous night.

* * *

"_This isn't fair, everyone gets to see her but me!" Jude exclaims as Lena strokes his hair after taking his temperature. Jesus lies in the bed across the room, watching them silently. "Jude, I won't get to see her either, Buddy. But you'll see her soon, I promise." _

"_But I wanna see her tomorrow," Jude expresses, dropping his head onto the pillow. "I know Jude, but sometimes, things happen, life happens. I know you wanna see Callie, but it's not like you'll never see her again!" _

"_This isn't fair," Jude repeats, burying his head into the pillow, tears escaping his eyes, wetting the pillow sheet. "Oh, Baby," Lena sighs, kissing the top of his head. Jesus can't help but watch intently as the scene unfolds before his eyes. Never once has he seen two siblings love each other this much, and show it. Jude loves Callie, she's all he's had for a long time. And not having her, was like not having the other half of your heart. Without it, it wouldn't work anymore. Not properly, anyways. _

_Jesus walked over to his bed, and kneeled down on the floor, in front of Jude, Lena looking at him with a weak smile across her face. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't Callie, he couldn't fix this the way she could. None of them could. _

"_I want Callie," Jude kept weeping into his pillowcase, his words muffled by the pillow. Lena lets out a sigh, grasping both Jude and Jesus' hands. "Me too."_

_Jesus looked at both of them, pain overwhelming his heart. "Me too."_

* * *

The bell rings, causing all of them to say bye and go their separate ways. Although Callie was supposed to be in English class, she decided to be the better sister, than the better student. So Callie walked out of the doors, and walked straight to the Foster's door.

**Just letting you know, I usually write my chapters much longer, but I decided to end with a little cliff-hanger. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thank you for the amazing reviews I received! I really appreciate it! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Next chapter, as my father would say, shit will hit the fan. Or whatever…**

Chapter 2

"_Lena," Stef called out, pushing the two children forward gently, one hand on each of their backs, locking the door behind her. "There are some very sweet people I want you to meet." Jesus and Mariana looked around the room, observing their surroundings quietly; discretely, their hands locked together tightly. By far, in the three houses they've been to in a matter of two years, this one was cleanest, warmest of them all. The moment they walked in, there was immediate comfort in the air._

_Lena slowly closed the stove lightly, tying her hair up in a ponytail, heading to meet their new guests. She knew about Jesus and Mariana, when Stef had told her they needed a place to stay, she was all for it. All her life, she's been carrying around the heaviest, largest heart in her chest, and it never seemed to run out of room. Therefore, being able to offer these children a place to stay, wasn't a problem for her what so ever. If anything, it was more like a win for Lena._

_She walked into the room, finding two young children looking around, one object then the next. Their eyes turning to face Lena when they noticed a new figure in the room. "Hi," Lena smiled, warm eyes and a gentle face. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Lena."_

_They just stood there at first, staring at her, confusion aluminous in both of their matching brown eyes. There was a moment of silence in the room, until the boy let out a smile, let go of his sister's hand, and reach out to shake hers. Lena's tight smile grew into a wide grin at his confidence. "I'm Jesus, its nice meeting you."_

_Lena let out a laugh at the boy. He sounded like a beaming old man, way above his young years. Her attention turned to the girl, just staring at her, her head tilted sideways, staring at her brother and Lena with such observation and curiosity. "And you, who are you?"_

_The girl opened her mouth, causing Stef to widen her eyes in shock. She hadn't spoken to anyone in the hours they've been together, if you avoid the fact how she'd whisper in her brothers ear every now and then. But her mouth just hung open, no words coming out. "Something you wanna say, Sweets?" Stef coaxed gently, running a hand through her hair, yet she flinched away, causing Stef to shoot her arm back, understanding the young girl's gesture. _

"_Um, alright then," Stef smiled, reaching out to kiss her girlfriend gently, both women leaning in slowly. Once they leave one another's embrace, they find both children seeming genuinely surprised. Both of them have their heads tilted, curiosity obvious in both of their eyes._

"_You two are together?" The boy asked, his eyes wide open in surprise. "Yes, Stef and I are girlfriends. This is why we live together," Lena explains, the smile never escaping her lips._

"_But, aren't girls supposed to have husbands or boyfriends?" He asked again, looking towards his sister for confirmation, her head nodding heavily in their direction. The most contact she's given any of them in the past hours. _

"_Well, sometimes girls can have girlfriends if they like girls. Just like boys can have boyfriends if they like boys," Lena concluded, not knowing another way to describe it. "Some people are just born this way."_

"_That's awesome!" Jesus exclaims, causing both women to burst out in laughter. "I like boys, too. But, like as friends. I think girls are pretty!" _

_Both women just stare at one another, a smile spread across both their faces, even Mariana lets out a small smile at his words, her head ducked down. "Well, Mike is dropping Brandon off soon, so he can meet the both of you," Stef exclaims, grabbing both of Jesus and Mariana's bags, placing them by the staircase. _

"_Brandon and Mike?" Jesus asks, wondering who this boy could be. "Oh, Brandon is out son, he's only a year older than you, he's eight. And Mike is my ex-husband, before I realized I like girls."_

"_Brandon is eight!" Jesus exclaims, grateful for another boy his age, completely oblivious to Stef's other words. "Do you think we can be friends?" Lena was completely surprised at how straight forward he was, usually, in situations, like these, kids would tend to be more like Mariana, quiet and curious. Jesus seemed excited all the time; honest. Lena admired the young boy for that, he didn't seem to let the world crush his spirits. Yet, no one knows what could going through his young mind._

"_Of course, I think you'll be good friends with Brandon," Stef smiles widely at him, all of their heads instinctively turning towards the door when they hear the loud ding of the doorbell. "That must be him."_

_Suddenly, Jesus goes over to his sister, both of them sticking close together. Turns out he wasn't all that fearless, but who was? Especially a seven year old boy who had his life turned upside down at young age, being thrown into an awful system where children are treated like unwanted extras. Where children felt like an undesired luggage to peoples everyday lives, only there because they were pitied. _

"_Hi, Buddy!" Stef exclaimed, as a young boy with sparkling, teal eyes and dark hair jumps into Stef's arms and starts speaking so quickly it's almost unintelligible. "Hi Mommy! I had so much fun with Daddy- he's in the car by the way he said he wanted to wait outside because he had to go to work late. Anyway, we had so much fun, we went to the park and-"_

_Brandon stopped in dead sentence when he noticed the two children standing in front of them, staring at him with deep observation. "Um, hi?" He spoke unsurely looking at Stef and Lena with a questioning look._

"_Brandon, this is Jesus and Mariana. They're going to be staying with us for a while," Lena explains to him carefully, trying to make him understand every word. "Like, staying, staying? Like sleeping here and eating here and everything?"_

"_Yup," Lena confirmed, watching Brandon's face light up brightly. "Awesome! Wanna come play outside? There's a huge tree where we can hang from and everything!"_

"_Sure!" Jesus exclaims, coming forward, no hesitation in his voice what so ever. Brandon lets out a large grin, looking towards Mariana. "What about you?" _

_Reluctantly, the girl just shook her head lightly, barely noticeable. "Oh, it's alright. We can play together next time! C'mon….Jesus, you're Jesus right?" _

"_Yup, and you're Brandon," Jesus acknowledged, a large grin plastered onto his face. Bothe boys walked out together, their voices so loud with excitement they can hear them until they go outside._

"_Sweet, have you ever played soccer before?" Brandon asks, his voice beaming. "Yeah, it's my favourite!"_

"_Me too!" And then their outside, leaving the three girls inside, no one speaking until Stef opens her mouth. "I'm going to bring these upstairs into your rooms, unpack for you. Your rooms might be a little plain, but we'll have them done the way you like soon."_

_The girl just nods lightly, slowly starting to open up to contact. Stef flashes the young girl a smile before heading upstairs, both Jesus and Mariana's bags in each of her hands. Lena just keeps smiling at the girl as she stares at her. She was a vice principle, she was supposed to be used to children, but currently, she couldn't help but feel the lightest bit of uncomfortable. _

"_So," Lena speaks, trying to find conversation. "Are you hungry, I made Mac and Cheese?" The girl just stares, not one word or gesture coming from Mariana. _

"_Do you want me to turn on the TV for you? Any shows you like in particular. Brandon absolutely loves The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." The girl still doesn't move a muscle, causing Lena to tense up a little. She wondered if the girl had ever even heard of the show, let alone watch it. _

"_Want me to do your hair?" The girls' eyes light up the minute she finishes speaking, her head nodding continuously. Lena stifles a laugh. She wonders what kind of mother this girl must've had for her to desire this kind of motherly gesture._

"_Come on," Lena instructed, moving towards the couch, sitting down and patting the seat next to her. Reluctantly, the girl sits next to her, stiffening as Lena runs her hands into the girl's long hair._

"_You have beautiful hair, you know," Lena states kindly, beginning to braid it carefully. The girl just smiles and shrugs, not wanting to speak._

"_I always wished I could have long, straight hair like yours," Lena remarks, crossing Mariana's hair in a repetitive manner. "But, as you can see, mine is very curly, so I could never manage to do things like braid it. But I still learnt, trying on my hair, but it never worked out the way I wished it would. But, luckily, I learnt how to braid hair wonderfully. Sometimes, I braid Stef's for work when she's stressed."_

_Mariana just smiles and Lena completes the braid, placing it over her shoulder, Mariana running her fingers over it cautiously. "You know Mariana, we won't hurt you here," Lena begins, carefully stroking her hair. "You're safe, no one is going to ever judge you or scare you. So it's completely fine to speak, to express yourself. It's not okay to let things bottled up inside for too long, because one day, you might be having lots of problems because of it. Like you'll feel scared in your heart, and angry. So I'm just telling you, it's okay to tell Stef and I things, because we care for you, and we don't want those bad feelings to happen to you."_

_Eventually, after moments of realizing she wasn't going to speak, Lena flicks on the TV to Disney Channel, and she walks out of the room, explaining how she has to get food ready. Just before she enters the other room she hears a high pitched voice. "Thank you."_

_Lena can feel her heart melt. And right in that moment, she'd want to feel that feeling over and over again. She felt like achieved something large. Right there, was when Lena wanted to be a mother more than anything else in her life._

* * *

That memory was exactly why there were many things Lena could say to Callie as she stood by their door step, her arms hanging down by her sides awkwardly; a weak smile across her face as she mutters a simple 'hi.' She could explain to her how angry at her she was at her for skipping school, how idiotic it was to walk here, no one advised about her little walk. It would be so much simpler to scold her for making teachers wonder where she was, why she wasn't here when she was supposed to be. Right now, the emotions were tumbling throughout her brain like a never ending avalanche.

Instead of scolding the girl, she did the first thing that possibly came into her mind. She grabbed her by the shoulders and enveloped her in a large embrace, planting kisses all over her head and face. Although she was surprised about her foster mother's quick reaction, she still returned the hug with as much strength and love.

She missed her, she missed all of them. Eventually, after they both managed to pull away from one another, Lena knew this was her cue. "Callie, what on earth were you thinking? You can't runaway from school like that!"

"I know. But Jude is sick," Callie explained, closing the door behind her, entering their home. Everything about this place was so familiar to her. The picture frames, the smell of freshly made coffee, the sensation of absolute comfort and love; acceptance and understanding. Isn't that what home was supposed to make you feel? Comforted and loved, admired and accepted.

"Who told you?" Lena asks, looking completely disappointed. Callie tries her hardest to push away the laugh which almost escaped her lips. Of course Mariana and Jesus weren't supposed to tell her, to avoid something like this from happening. But, of course, they told her anyways.

"Guess," Callie said, her voice hinting an obvious tone. Lena just let out a large sigh, indicating she knew exactly who had done it. "Of course. The twins." Callie just nodded her head, a smile tugging at her lips at how Jesus and Mariana could barely keep a secret. Callie was just about to speak, her mind wandering right back to her brother, but they both gotten interrupted from footsteps coming downstairs.

"Lena," a small voice spoke the name delicately, yet Callie could sense the complete exhaustion in his tone. "I'm feeling a little better. I'm a little hungry thou-" He stopped completely once he saw his sister looking at him, a smile spread across her face.

Just seeing Jude, made her feel so much better, like a weight had been lifted over her shoulders. It didn't take long for the boy to come rushing down the stairs and wrap his arms tightly around the older girl's waist, burying his head into her shoulder. And it didn't take long for her to wrap her arms tightly around him as well, running her fingers through his hair. The older women, standing behind them, smiling at their reunion

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, his face never leaning the crook of her neck. He knew Callie would always do stupid things when it came to the people she loved, and he also knew how badly those stupid things would affect her, because she would never think twice about it. And even if she knew the consequences, she'd do it anyways. Never before has he been more grateful for her stupid decisions than right now.

"I figured, I missed you and Lena, so I came for a visit…" She speaks unsurely, trying her hardest to cover her uncertainness with a blanket of confidence. "Yeah, and you also figured to come right now instead of after school because apparently, it's not important enough."

"Hey, don't get the wrong idea," Callie advised, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes. He really did seem sick. There were heavy bags under his eyes, his nose was red and he seemed drowsy; tired. "School is important. But family is a much bigger priority than school."

"Yeah, but this was really stupid of you. Lena is here, she's taking care of me," Jude states, looking back at Lena who was staring at the two of them so intently, Callie was positive she could see right through them like a glass door. "Well, I guess, I could just go back to school then," Callie joked, pushing away from him.

"No, too late, you're already here," he smiled, moving forward to wrap her up in another hug, one Callie instinctively leaned into. Lena watched the both of them, so calm and relaxed. Although she hated having to push them back into reality, she had to, or else all of them could get in trouble. "Alright Callie, I'll call the school tell them you're here. But I'll have to call Robert, too."

Callie immediately stiffened at the mention of Robert, she did not want to see him right now. "What? Lena, please, please don't call him!" Never had Lena heard Callie sound so desperate, so vulnerable. It shocked her, watching the girl's mood change from carefree to complete vexation. "Callie, right now, he's your guardian and there's nothing we can do." Lena felt so heartbroken, watching Callie's spirits get crushed and Jude's head hang down in utter sadness. Suddenly, Callie felt a spark of anger electrocute throughout her heart, filling her veins with a fiery wrath.

"Liar!" She spat, her eyes burning with anger. "There are so many things you can do! Not calling him would be an excellent example! I _hate_ him, I will never love him. And I hate having to live with him and his _perfect_ family! And I _hate you guys_ for leaving me with him!"

Callie never expected to lash out on her the way she did. The person she was supposed to lash out on out of all of them, is Robert. If anything, she wasn't anything but happy at Stef and Lena for setting a court arrangement to get her back. But there was an anger she's been feeling lately, not only at the Fosters, not only at the Quinn's, but towards herself. She hated herself for not realizing this was going to happen. For letting her guard down, and completely forget about the fact that nothing wonderful can last.

"Callie," Lena spoke gently, watching the girl walk out of the kitchen and head into the living room, sitting on the couch and burying her head in her hands. There was nothing else she could do but follow her, a surprised Jude following as well.

"I'm sorry," Callie whispered as Lena sat next to her rubbing her back in comfort. "I just…I don't think I can be there any longer. I know it's only been two days, but I still can't take it anymore."

Jude walked over to the other side of her, his hand slipping into hers for comfort. Lena just let out a sigh, stroking Callie's hair softly. "Oh, Honey. I know it's so unfair. For you, for us. But we're strong enough to pull through it. Let me call Robert, I'll explain everything, maybe I can get you to sleep over, yeah?" Callie just nodded lightly, not bothering to speak.

"Jude," Lena begins before dispersing into the kitchen. "Go lie down Buddy, I don't want you getting sicker. Go with Callie, if you want." Jude doesn't bother disobeying Lena, especially the fact at how tired he currently felt. So he dragged Callie up with him, his hand never leaving hers.

Once they enter his room, the both curl up on the bed together. "You'll get sick if you come too close," Jude commented, trying not to lean onto her too much, but still craving her comfort before she'll be forced to leave him, all of them, again.

"I honestly don't care right now, Jude." It doesn't take long for the both of them to end up having their arms around one another. It was too familiar to forget, a motion practiced too many times to be unrecognized.

* * *

"_Callie, Callie," the boy shakes his sister's shoulder lightly, only receiving a loud groan from her sleeping body. "Callie!" _

_All at once, her eyes bolt open, searching the room until she finds where the voice came from. Jude. Instinctively, she turns to face him, worry boiling into the girl's mind. Their foster father, Jim, was the most abusive, idiotic foster father they'd ever had. He would scold them for the most unusual of reasons, trying to find an excuse to hurt any of them, his drunken form always waddling around the house, trying to watch their every move._

"_What happened?" She asks, concern filling her voice quickly as she stares at him up and down, searching for a sign of injury. Thankfully, she finds nothing but his old bruises which hadn't completely disappeared yet. "I had a nightmare." _

_Callie lets out a sigh of relief. He wasn't hurt, Jim hadn't touched him. The fifteen year old just let out a weak smile and moved aside, making space for her little brother. Immediately, he crawled into the space, wrapping an arm around his sister's waist who was lying on her back, placing his head upon her shoulder, her arms wrapped around him, one hand stroking his hair gently. _

"_What was your dream about?" She asked, her fingers running through his hair soothingly. She remembers the first time after their mother had died when Jude had a nightmare. It was one month after her death, they were in a good foster home who treated them well. They'd get scolded every now and then, but nothing too awful. _

_Callie remembers dreaming of her mother almost every night, having good dreams about her, memories, or nightmares; nightmares of picturing her mother's dead body after the crash. Because Callie wasn't one to seek comfort those days, because no one could comfort her the way her parents used to, she would just force herself back to sleep, pressuring her mind to wander off to other subjects._

_Jude had crawled out of bed, and rushed over to his sister's room, not knowing what else to do. He had shaken her awake so abruptly, Callie had gotten pissed off at him. Throughout the entire month, they had gotten close, but not as close as they were now. There were always moments when she'd yell at Jude, boss around, act more like a sister than a guardian. _

_After shaking her awake, he had explained to her about his nightmare, about monsters trying to come after him. Callie almost told him to go see their mother, but before she could spill it out, she stopped herself, telling him to come into bed with her, knowing that's what her mother always did. At first he was hesitant, he'd never gone to see Callie for a nightmare before; therefore it was completely odd for him to desire her help._

_Eventually, he entered the tiny bed, they arms and legs touching slightly. At first, Callie was unsure what to do next, she remembers her mother would always sing to her when this happened, but she wasn't her mother. Instead, Callie grasped onto Jude's hand and told him to fall asleep now, because the monsters wouldn't come if he was with her. Being six and all, he believed her, and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep, Callie not long afterwards. _

_In the morning, they ended up waking in a position similar to how they were currently. Surprisingly, it was the first night she didn't dream about her mother. _

"_Mom," Jude whimpered quietly. "It was about Mom." Callie was surprised. Jude would barely cry over his mother anymore, let alone speak about her. Callie just let out a sigh and held him tighter, kissing his forehead lightly. "What about her?"_

"_The day she died. I saw it in my head," Jude croaked out, causing Callie's heart to melt slightly. "Dad was driving, and then he passed a red light, and the car crashed into the other one. And then all you see in Mom's body crash into the front window, like a ragdoll. And I saw it, over, and over again."_

_He ended up crying, causing a tear to slip out of Callie's eyes as well. "Oh, Baby," Callie whispered. "It's alright, it's not real."_

"_But it is!" Jude insisted, burying his head further into the girls shoulder. "Remember, the social worker even told us that's how she died. She flew out the windshield."_

"_I didn't think you'd remember that," Callie whispers, completely surprised. "Callie, would you forget the moment someone told us Mom is dead?" Callie let out a large sigh._

"_Of course not," She sighed, stroking Jude's hair as he looks up at her. "Go back to sleep, Jude. It's over now."_

"_It's never over," Jude spoke tiredly. At first Callie was confused about what he meant. The damage was done; their mother was gone. There was absolutely nothing either of them could do to get her back. But then, she understood. He meant the pain. The pain was never over. It never would be._

"_I know, Jude. I know," Callie whispers, continuing to stroke his hair softly. "It's time to sleep now. Goodnight, Baby."_

"_G'night, Callie."_

* * *

All these memories, the made all these feelings tumble back into her heart. Only weeks ago, she was positive this was going to be her last home. Her real home, forever. This would've been the place where she'd actually feel safe, feel loved and cared for. And here she was now, holding her brother until they'd be ripped apart, staying in a house she wished she could've called home, but now she'd be taken away, ripped from the one place she's actually felt safety from in years.

"Callie?" The voice is too familiar for Callie not to recognize. Looking up from her bed, she knows she was right. Callie slowly unravels a tired Jude away from her, and jumps out of the bed, rushing into Stef's open arms.

"Mom," Callie wept into her shoulder, feeling her hand come up to stroke her hair. "Lena told me. Never more have I been this happy and this angry at once, in my life."

Callie couldn't help but manage a laugh. Stef always found a way to make some part of her laugh, no matter what mood she was in. "I'm sorry. Mariana told me Jude was sick, and I felt bad. And I missed you and Lena, and I'm sorry."

Stef let out a sigh, holding on tightly to her. Despite it only being two days, she missed her so deeply, it hurt. Her mind would always wander off to her, whether Callie was okay, whether she felt lonely, afraid. Whether she was thinking of them, missing them as much as they missed her.

"It's okay, Love. Just don't do something reckless again, yes?" Stef spoke gently, feeling Callie nod her head against her shoulder. "I don't know what Robert is going to punish you with now, but we'll have to wait and see." Callie nodded lightly once more.

"C'mon, Love let's let Jude sleep for a bit," Stef instructed, noticing Jude's sleeping body in the background. Callie just nodded and followed Stef down the stairs, their hands clasped together tightly.

* * *

Robert finished work around seven tonight due to a late meeting, which is exactly why he couldn't pick her up sooner. Therefore, there she was sitting and eating dinner with the Fosters, her true family. "How was school?" Stef asked, shoving mashed potatoes into her mouth.

"Awful, as usual," Mariana nagged, leaning her face onto her hand. "It would've been better if Callie could've been there for lunch, though."

"Hey, now Mariana, you were, in fact, the one who told her about Jude being sick," Lena explained, pouring water into her cup. "So don't put all the blame on her."

"This isn't Mariana's fault," Callie insisted, placing peas into her own dish. "It was my decision to ditch, I was the one who had the power to make the actual decision."

"Thank you, Callie," Mariana piped, straightening her back. "See, even she doesn't blame me, so you guys shouldn't either. Besides, even if it was the slightest bit of my fault, it would've been Jesus' fault, too."

"What?" The boy argued, a mouth full of steak. "No, you're the one who told her, I was just accompanying you."

"Jesus, gross, speak after you swallow," Stef laughs, passing the mashed potatoes over to Jude. "Jesus, you were still there, you could've like, shoved your hand over my mouth if you really wanted to stop me," Mariana insists.

"If I did that, you would've been complaining at how I shoved a hand over your mouth and then you'd tell her anyways after you force me to get out of your face." Everyone manages a laugh at his words, which were unfortunately filled with nothing but honesty.

"What about the rest of the gang?" Lena asks, tying up her hair before eating. "How was school?"

"Great," Brandon inquired, wiping a napkin over his mouth. "We had a substitute in math, Mr. Benton was like ten times better than Mrs. Hatfield. You should seriously think of firing her and hiring him instead."

"Oh, Brandon," Lena laughed. "I don't think we can do that. Besides, we've had Eleanor- I mean, Mrs. Hatfield for years, it would be wrong to fire her now, right before she retires."

"Too bad," Brandon sighed shoving steak into his mouth as well. "She sucks." Lena just lets out a sigh at his words, changing the subjects quickly before Mariana can go on about the time she wouldn't let Mariana go to the bathroom until she told her what she needed to go for in front of the whole class. It ended to Mariana yelling loudly about how she had to change her tampon, causing everyone in the class to burst out in laughter like a bunch of five year olds.

"Jude," Lena began. "Mrs. Knox called, she said you got a B on your math test. That's amazing, Bud." Jude just let out a smile, the tip of his nose still bright red.

A chorus of congratulations went on throughout the room until the doorbell rang, causing Callie to slouch down, knowing who it was. "I'll be back. Callie, say goodbye for now, Honey," Stef spoke gently, Lena following her, placing a kiss on Callie's temple before she continued.

Jude was the first to wrap his arms round her neck from the chair next to her. "I'll see you at school when I can go back. And Saturday, for the court thing." Callie just nodded against his shoulder.

"Bye," He surprisingly let go quickly, yet he knew he would see her soon, so he didn't want to overreact. All he did was repeat throughout his mind that he'd see her soon, so he wouldn't latch onto her again. "Bye, Bud." Callie kissed his temple, smiled and moved towards Mariana and Jesus, who both wrapped their arms around her at the same time.

"Bye, Callie," Marianna said, not knowing what else to say. "I'll see you tomorrow. No more ditching us at lunch time." Callie managed a laugh despite the aching feeling in her chest. "I promise that won't happen again."

"Good," Jesus whispered, holding on tightly. "See you soon." And then they let go, Callie turning to wrap her arms around Brandon.

"I'll see you at lunch," he states, still wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Yeah, and I'll play that guitar tonight, we'll jam from afar."

He manages a small laugh. "I'll miss you." Just nods against him. "Me too." Eventually, they let go, Callie whispers her last goodbyes and walks over to the door where Robert stands with her two mothers.

"Callie, what the hell were you thinking?" Robert asks her, moving towards her, placing a hand against her shoulder, but she flinches away. "School is important."

"Jude is sick," Callie states coldly, crossing her arms across her chest glaring at him with a fiery hate. He was taking her away. Again. The pain was so alive in her chest; vibrant, almost too vibrant. "I would rather be here with him, than at school."

"Lena was taking care of him!" He exclaimed, his own anger in his eyes. "If you were still living here, well you would've went to school."

"Yeah if I still lived here a lot of things would be different!" Callie shouted, rage boiling into her veins. "But you took that away, so don't blame me!"

Robert looked as though someone had slapped him. "You know, I think I might just change you to Sophia's school. Maybe it'll talk some sense into you," Robert spoke gently, as if she might've actually enjoyed this idea.

"Umm, we had a deal," Stef chimed in, moving forward next to Robert. "You promised us that you wouldn't change Callie school."

"I'm sorry, but Callie is my daughter and I can enroll her into whatever school I wish to enroll her in," Robert insists, about to head out the door.

"Yeah, we'll see about all of that on Saturday at court," Stef spat, turning her attention towards Callie who was already saying bye to Lena, leaning into her arms. Stef couldn't help but join in, all of them hugging tightly.

"Bye, Moms," Callie smiles. "I love you guys." Stef and Lena both grin at her pulling her in one more time. "We love you, too." Eventually, due to Robert's impatience she exited the house, an immediate pain hitting her in the heart as he closed the door.

Callie turns towards Robert, a fire vibrant in her eyes. "I hate you,. And I don't know what's making you think that I do, that I love you, but I don't. So leave me alone until Saturday, when I can finally go home!"

Without any hesitation, Callie rushes over to Roberts's car, opening the unlocked door and sitting inside, trying her hardest not to cry. For a moment, before Robert came, everything was pleasant, fun. _Wonderful_. And now here she was, crying in the car of a man who she would never call her father.

**Just letting you guys know that things heat up next chapter! Hope you enjoyed! Tell me how you all liked it!**


	4. Very Important Note!

**Guys, I'm so sorry this isn't a chapter, but I'm having this huge authors block! So yesterday I got this brilliant idea, but I'm not quite sure whether you guys would enjoy this or not. I know this is my story, but it's indeed for your entertainment. So, would you guys like new characters, or should I just stick to the usual?**

**Just letting you know I mean more than just one new character. Like, about four or five. Let me know what you guys think! Keep in mind these are going to be **_**very**_** important characters to this story, they'll be mentioned a lot. I'm not going to give too much away, but let's just say these are some rebellious characters. **

**So if you think I shouldn't add in these characters, its fine, I have a backup plan. But keep in mind these characters are going to make this story much more intriguing and they'll keep you on the edge of your seat, you'll also have many mixed feelings about them, and maybe you'll like some and dislike others. **

**So tell me what you want, PM me or Review whichever.**

**Thank you guys, your opinion means more than a lot to me, so thank you. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! How are you? So in today's chapter you'll get to see how nervous everyone is for court on Saturday, which will be the next chapter. And I've decided to add my three new characters to this story, who will have indeed a large impact of Callie's attitude and how she'll coop with things. They'll be introduced in two or three chapters to get things really kicked off.**

**These characters will not replace any of the other ones. They will be as present in the story as Mariana and Jesus are for example. So keep in mind these characters are going to be very interesting, very dynamic, rebellious, and they'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Also, **_**none**_** of them will be love interests for Callie, so no worries about that. You might think one of them will be, but it's just the characters snarky personality.**

**Tell me how you guys think they'll impact Callie's life, and her decisions! **

**Also, there is a Brallie moment in this, but only as best friends, because don't ship them. **

**Anyways enjoy this short chapter, next one will be longer, and it'll have lots more dynamic, hope you enjoy.**

It was almost ironic.

The sky shined brightly today, perfect white clouds spotted the diamond-like sky. Despite the past few days' events. Callie hated how the sky could so be so perfect, when her life was completely messed up. It was hard to imagine someone out there, having the time of their life, while people were suffering. But, unfortunately, that's the way the world works.

That's what Callie hated the most after her mother's death. How people would just simply go on with their lives. She remembered looking out the window of their social workers car, watching teenagers laugh, adults sip coffee with stern looks, couples holding hands and smiling. She hated watching them all go along with their life, when she felt like she was being forced to crumple underneath a large rock, crushing her body, not being able to breath.

Right now, somebodies life could be torn up, turned upside down. And here she was, outside of Anchor Beach, eating a sandwich, waiting for the rest of the table to join her. It wasn't really _fair._ But nothing was fair, nothing ever could be fair. That's one of the most beautiful disappointments of the world. So fascinating and heartbreaking all at once.

"Hey, Callie," Mariana called out, walking towards the lunch table, waking her from her thoughts. "Hey!"

"How's it going?" The fifteen year old asks, taking a seat next to Callie. "And don't act oblivious, I know Robert wants to switch you to Sophia's school." Callie's eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Lena and Stef told you?" Callie wonders why they would've said it. They were supposed to keep the whole Robert situation in between themselves, not to get the family to worry. "Nope. I came down to grab my bag and I overheard them speak about you by the staircase. Luckily they didn't notice."

"Did you tell anyone else?" Callie asks, worry laced into her voice. She wouldn't want Jesus to rage out on Robert at the court appointment tomorrow, along with Brandon. Stef was enough by a long shot.

"Nope," Mariana reassures, beginning to take a large bite of the school sandwich. "Alright, thanks," Callie smiles, picking at the veggies on her plate with the plastic fork.

"You never answered me," Mariana reminds, opening her water bottle. "How's it going; at the Quinn's." Callie didn't really know how it was going. After Robert threatened to switch her schools, she's been angrier than usual; it was as if all the rage she's been carrying for the past few weeks finally exploded throughout her. For the past four days, she's been ignoring every single one of them. Not bothering to try and be kind.

"Well, it sucks," Callie concludes. "But, I'm waiting until tomorrow; for court. Hopefully we'll win."

"We will win," Mariana spoke with confidence, not one spark of doubt in her voice. "I can assure you."

"I don't know yet," Callie smirks, rubbing her onto her neck. "If you haven't noticed I don't really have the best luck in the world."

"Well, no one does," Mariana explains. "It's impossible to have the best luck in the world, Callie. No one has amazing luck, everyone has bad days."

"Good luck doesn't mean people don't have bad days," Callie says, anger running throughout her veins. "It means when they have those bad days, they can get through them, it means it went the way they wanted it to. It means they won."

"Well, we'll win," Mariana states, placing a hand on Callie's wrist. "You know, Callie, you won't be the only own hurting through this. We all feel as hurt as you do."

"Yeah, well you guys aren't the ones who are being ripped out of home," Callie explains, no more anger in her words, only defeat. "It sucks, Mariana. Being forced to be somewhere you don't want to be."

"I know…. I used to hate it when Moms used to take me to the grocery store when I wanted to be playing Barbie games online," Mariana jokes, causing both girls to let out a laugh. "You're so stupid!"

"Isn't she!" Jesus joins in, sitting on the opposite end of Callie and Mariana. "No one asked you, Jesus," Mariana states coldly, taking another bite of the ham sandwich.

"I'm sorry- what was that. I was talking to Callie," Jesus smirks, throwing carrots into her direction. "Here, you always like carrots more anyways."

"You're an ass, Jesus," Mariana says, rolling her eyes. "Nope, that's Brandon," Callie reminds them, biting into a celery stick.

"What's Brandon?" Brandon asks, from behind her, coming over to sit next to Jesus. "An ass. Brandon's an ass," Jesus tells him, causing Brandon to let out an overdramatic gasp.

"Well, I hear he's a nice guy," Brandon jokes. "Many people around the school have told me he's smart, good looking, kind, generous. Also I heard he's in this awesome band, and he's the most talented musician in the school."

"You must be thinking of another Brandon," Callie smirks, finishing up her celery. "Yeah, you must be thinking of Brandon Carter. He goes here, too," Mariana jokes.

"You must be right," Brandon laughs, looking behind Callie at someone. Callie and Mariana turn around instinctively at his gesture to find Lena and Stef behind them. "Mom?" Mariana speaks curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I haven't seen Callie in a few days, and I missed her. Besides I'm on break," Stef explains, reaching out to hug Callie who is currently standing at the sight of her parents. "Hey Love, we're gonna steal you for a bit."

Callie just nods against Stef's shoulder. "Alright," she answers, turning back at the three teenagers eating lunch behind her. "I'll see you guys later."

They all chorus their goodbyes and Callie is off with Stef and Lena, walking into Lena's office. "Is something going on?" Callie asks worriedly. The images of what could be going on are flowing inside her brain; one after the other.

"Well, we spoke to Robert," Stef explains, sitting next to Callie on the couch, Lena on the other side. "He told us that tomorrow, if the court confirms your stay with him for a little while longer, he'll be changing your schools."

"Like, _officially?_" Callie asks, looking at one of her moms and then looking at the other. "Officially…" Lena confirms, running a hand over the girls slouching form.

"Look Callie, we're only telling you this now because we want you to hear it from us, if this happens. Which it won't, we promise-" Callie cuts Stef off, anger present in ever angle of her voice.

"How can you be so sure that it won't happen?" Callie exclaims, placing her head into her hands. "We can't be sure, but Cal-" Callie cute her off again, persistence alive in her heart.

"Exactly. If you can't be sure, don't promise me something you might not be able to keep," Callie insists. "I've had enough of those." And then she gets up, walking out of the room with a deep pain running throughout her chest.

* * *

"_Mommy?" Callie's voice is quiet as she sits by her mother on the couch, three year old Jude asleep on Colleens lap. "Yes, Beautiful?" _

"_Can you switch the channel?" Seven year old Callie asked, watching the news with her mother. Callie hated watching the news, it was filled with sad stories and people who died, and people who kill. Colleen called it reality, but Callie called it 'scary'. And then Colleen would always tell her that reality is scary, but the seven year old never really understood what she actually meant._

"_Not now, Baby, I'm watching the news and something very sad just happened," Colleen explained, running a hand through the girl's curls. "Why would you want to watch something sad?"_

"_Because sometimes, we have to watch some sad things, to remind us how happy and how lucky we are," Colleen stated, her eyes never leaving the screen as two people showed up suddenly, their names written at the bottom of the picture, along with their ages._

_Eventually, Colleen started shaking her head very solemnly, something she'd do when she heard something awful happened. Callie never understood why she'd do that. You were supposed shake your head instead of saying 'no', that's what all the teachers at school would tell her._

"_What's wrong Mommy, why are you saying no?" Colleen managed a small laugh at her daughter, looking down at her curious eyes. Colleen didn't know how to describe to her seven year old daughter, how people would shake their heads not only in disapproval, but in utter disappointment with what the world has come to. _

"_Well, those two people there," Colleen points to the screen, the pictures of the married couple in their thirties stays plastered onto the screen, the news anchors voices sounding monotone in the background. "They died in a car crash today."_

"_What?" Callie asks, surprise laced into her voice, sadness overcoming it. "See, Mommy, this is why I don't like the news!" Colleen just looks down upon her daughter, stroking her hair lightly, kissing the top of it. Suddenly an image comes on of the two adults with their three children, and Colleen can swear she heard her heart break for those poor kids._

"_Are those their kids?" Callie asks, before Colleen can explain again why she's solemnly shaking her head. "Yeah, Baby."_

"_Where are they going to go now?" Callie asks her mother, worry filling into her chocolate eyes, her hands clutching onto the blanket covering them. "Well if they have other family, they'll go live with them."_

"_And if not? Do they get adopted; like Thomas?" Callie had just started second grade and this year in her class, there's a new student named Thomas, and he told everyone he moved here because he was getting adopted. Callie was so amazed at how nice people could be to make them live with him. But then he explained that they were going to be his parents, which made Callie utterly confused. _

_Parents are supposed to be people who share your blood, and who love you, and take care of you, and heal you when you get hurt. Not only supposed to let _you live with them_. But then he told the entire class they do all the same things normal parents do, and they tell him they love him every night, and Callie felt some spark of happiness ignite in her. They loved him and they really are his parents. Callie never realized until then how strong love really was._

"_Not all kids get adopted right away like Thomas," Colleen explained gently, slowly shifting Jude, who's still asleep on her lap. "They have to go into this system, called the foster system, where you live with families until one of them finally loves you and keeps you."_

"_What if no one ends up loving you and keeping you?" Callie wonders, snuggling down into her mother's side. "Well, then you turn eighteen, and you get all your parents' money, to go live by yourself." _

"_But, what if they have a brother or sister, like Jude? What happens to them?" Colleen suddenly realized how Callie was placing herself in this situation. She immediately wanted to push Callie's mind out of this silly idea, but she wanted her to think about it as well. Colleen knew Callie was forged by selflessness, persistent, love, and intelligence. She knew how Callie would always place herself in somebody else's shoes. She didn't want to take such a rare personality trait away from her, especially how young she currently is. She's proud of her._

"_Well, they can either take them in; adopt them, or foster them themselves. Or leave them alone," Colleen explains, noticing Callie's shocked face as she stares at her sleeping brother. "They would leave them alone?!"_

"_I know it sounds awful, but sometimes situations like these- problems like these make people angry, or sad. So they end up doing stupid things, and they become mean people." Callie hated thinking of how they would actually leave the only piece of family they have left alone. _

"_If that ever happens, I'm never, ever, ever leaving Jude," Callie explains, crossing her hands over her chest to prove her point. "I'm glad," Colleen states smiling at her daughter. _

"_But don't worry, Callie, it won't happen. I'll never leave you or your brother." Callie just looks up into her mother's eyes; the only person in the entire world who could never lie to her._

"_You promise?" _

"_I promise."_

* * *

Callie sat on the beach, digging her fingers into the sand, tiny grains getting stuck into her finger nails. "Callie." The voice was too familiar not be recognized. Brandon sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Hey," Callie says, sounding completely monotone, her eyes staring off into the water, Brandon staring at the side of her face. "Are you alright?" Callie wanted to yell at him, tell him that, obviously, nothing was alright. Why else wouldn't she be in class right now. Why isn't _he_ in class right now?

"Why are you here, Brandon?" She asks him, looking directly into his eyes coldly. "Because I saw you. And I saw you were coming here. And if you were going to ditch, I kinda had to ditch, too."

"You didn't _have _to ditch," Callie insisted, pilling sand up like a tall mountain. "You've been ditching enough since the first day I've been here." Brandon smiles at her, pilling his own sand mountain in front of him, currently sitting cross legged, mimicking Callie.

"I can never ditch enough for you, Callie," he states, causing her to smile down onto her tiny mountain of sand, not looking up at him. "We're so messed up," he laughs. "Look at us, building miniature sand mountains like a bunch of five year olds." Callie and Brandon both burst out in laughter at his comment.

"Yeah, we really are messed up," Callie laughs, throwing sand onto Brandon's shirt. "I honestly, really miss you."

"Yeah," Brandon smiles, throwing sand back into her direction. "I miss you, too. It sucks, not having my jamming buddy around the house anymore. We could've created our own two person band."

"I think it's better off that we didn't. We'd end up having an awful band name," Callie laughs brightly, causing Brandon to laugh as well. "The Adopted Duo."

"That would've been great if I were adopted," Brandon laughs. "But I'm not, so what about The Un-Biological Twinz. With a 'Z' for our extreme teenageness."

"First off, how on earth do you get A's in English?" Callie asks, another set of giggle overcoming her. "Second of all, you're older than me by like four months. So what about The Ass and The Hottie?"

"That's great!" Brandon exclaims loudly. "But, I don't think you should be referring to yourself as an ass Callie, you're pretty cool." Callie and Brandon both start laughing again, loudly and carefree. That's how it was supposed to be with your best friend.

"You're so stupid, Brandon," Callie joked, pushing him over playfully. "But, you're honestly, just as amazing."

"Glad to hear it," Brandon states. "I love making people feel better, but you're a bonus."

"Why? Because I can rarely ever be happy because of my screwed up life?" Callie asks him, throwing more sand into his direction. "No… Because you're… you." Callie looks over to Brandon, a smile creeping up onto her face. Before she knows it, she's hugging him, leaning her head against his shoulder. His hands slowly reach up against her back, and he returns her hug with a much fierceness.

"I don't wanna go back to class Brandon, it's last period and then after, I have to go back to Robert's," Callie informs his, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "I don't want to go back there. And I know, he's not a bad person. But he's so… he tells me he wants me happy, and he sends me living with him, where he knows I can never be happy."

"Callie," Brandon starts, rubbing her back softly. "He just wants the chance to be your father. He wants the chance to love you."

"I know," Callie admits. "To be honest, I'd love him more if he let me stay with you guys. I miss my room, and the kitchen, and the cold showers when we run out of water. I miss watching Mariana and Jesus bicker about the stupidest things, and I miss helping Jude with homework. I miss watching Lena and Stef be so loving and supportive, not only for us but for each other. And I miss our jam sessions, those were the best things to make my mind fade away from reality."

"I know, Callie," Brandon tells her. "I know. And I'm sorry we can't do anything until tomorrow." Slowly, they let go, but Brandon keeps an arm around her shoulders as she sits back into her spot more comfortably, bringing her legs up to her chest. "Can we stay here, and skip the whole class, please."

"You know you always are getting me in trouble, Callie," Brandon smiles, looking down at her, her eyes sparking in the sun light. "But I couldn't care less."

* * *

Callie waits outside Lena's car, waiting for everyone else to meet her there. She spent the last few hours on the beach with Brandon, barely speaking, but somehow managing to communicate the entire time anyways. "Callie!" A small voice yells out, and suddenly a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey, Bud!" Callie laughs, wrapping her arms tightly around her younger brother. This was Jude's first day back since he's been sick. Luckily, he's recovered well with Stef or Lena taking care of him. "How was school?" She asks, pulling away slightly to look at his face.

"Boring, as usual," he states, unravelling himself from her quickly when he sees Connor coming by. "Bye, Jude!" The taller boy waves past him, going over to his mom's car. "See you, Connor!" He replies, smiling widely at the boy.

"Hey, I haven't seen Connor in a while," Callie states, reaching over to ruffle Jude's hair. "Did something happen between the both of you?" Jude just shrugs slightly, not wanting to tell her the truth. But Callie was persistent.

"Jude," Callie insisted, widening her eyes slightly, her eyebrows going up. "What happened? I know I've been busy with the whole… situation, but I still have time for your problems. I'm always here for you."

"Yeah, I know, Callie," Jude states. "There's nothing wrong." Callie knew Jude was lying, but she knew he had to keep this to himself. Callie could read her brother like a book, it even worked the other way around. "Okay then."

"Okay," Jude replied, watching Mariana and Jesus come over to them, both of them arguing about something. "Do you guys ever stop arguing?" Jude asked them, a smile spread across his face.

"Nope," Jesus confirmed, nudging the boy slightly. "The day Jesus gets a girlfriend who lasts longer than a year is the day we'll stop arguing," Mariana jokes, placing herself next to Callie.

"Oh so never," Brandon jokes, entering the conversation plopping himself next to Jude, who is laughing at his words. "Shut up, it'll happen. Besides, Brandon is jealous that he hasn't been able to get another one yet, when I was just one after the other."

"Yeah, that's nothing to be proud of bro," Brandon states, turning to Jude. "Keep in note, Jude, to never be as big as a douche when it comes to dating like Jesus."

"Oh ha-ha," Jesus jokes. "Keep in note, Jude, to never be as big as an ass as Brandon is… In general."

"Don't listen to them, Jude," Mariana laughs. "Keep in note to never listen to any of them." Jesus scoffs in Mariana's direction.

"Oh Please. Jude keep in note to listen to anyone _but _Mariana."

"Says the one with the tattoo," Mariana whispers in his direction, the others not catching it. Jude just lets out a large sigh. "Will someone hand be paper and a pen already?" Everyone manages a laugh, and Callie ruffles up his hair more than it already was from before.

"Hey Babies," Stef calls out, exiting the cop car she just parked. She suddenly comes over and wraps her arm around Callie and the other around Mariana. "How was school?"

"Awful," Brandon explains, leaning against Lena's car. "As usual. Am I right?" All his siblings chorus a yes, and more unintelligible words being said all at once. "Oh come on, Loves. It can't be half bad," Stef expresses, reaching over the hug Jesus, Jude and then Brandon before crossing her hands over her chest.

"It's bad, Mom," Jesus says, and then when they hear the click, which marks Lena was close enough to unlock the doors of the car, they all turn into Lena's direction. "Alright, let's go Loves, you must all have lots of homework. Say bye to your sister."

Mariana was the first to jump on her this time, wrapping her arms around her neck. "We'll get you back tomorrow." Callie just lets out a sigh, nodding against her shoulder. "I hope so." Mariana smiles and then let's go, Jesus quickly replacing her.

"I'll be there tomorrow, to yell at the judge and Robert," Jesus admits, leaning in to kiss her temple. "And I'll be laughing," Callie states, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Laugh at me all you want, I'll be fighting to get you back," he states, hugging her fiercely. "I know you will," Callie smiles, letting go. Suddenly Brandon reaches in to hug her.

They don't bother speaking other than whispering their goodbyes, but they still latch onto one another tightly, Brandon slowly rubbing circles onto her back, and Callie wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Eventually, after minutes, they let go and Jude runs into her arms.

"Don't miss me too much, Buddy," Callie insists, wrapping her arms tightly around her brother's shoulders, marveling at how tall he's gotten. "I'll try. By now, I'm kinda used to missing you. It sucks."'

Callie just lets out a small sigh. "I know, Bud. I know," Callie smiles kissing the top of his before he follows the rest of his siblings in the car, leaving Callie with her moms.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you the way I did," Callie tells them, looking back and forth through Stef and Lena. "I just, I thought of my mom and I don't know what happened. I just… I'm sorry." Lena smiles at her, and reaches out to hug her, kissing the top of her head lightly. "It's alright, Callie. You were right, we shouldn't promise things we might not be able to keep." Callie nods against Lena's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I love you guys, and I really, _really_, want to come home," Callie smiles, looking away from her mother's and staring into the car to find all her siblings talking non-stop to one another. "And I really want to do that again." Callie points to the car and the moms nod.

"We know Baby," Stef says, coming over to wrap her arms around the girl, Lena wrapping her arms around her as well. "We love you, too. And right now there is nothing we want more than for you to come home with us, my love."

Lena nods her head in acknowledgement, stroking Callie's head gently. "I see Robert's car, Honey," Stef states. And then Callie latches her arms around the two of them one last time until tomorrow.

"We love you, Baby," Stef begins, kissing the top of her head. "We'll see you tomorrow," Lena states, kissing the top of Callie's head gently.

"I love you guys, too. All of you," Callie assures them, one arm latched tightly around the two of them. "I'll see you tomorrow, Moms." And then Callie slowly walks away from them, and into the direction of Robert's car.

She took one deep breath, and opened the unlocked door for a man who was waiting just for her.

**Thanks you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed, tell me how you liked this chapter! Next chapter is the court thing and the one after you'll meet the new characters. Also you guys should listen to Don't Deserve You by plumb, I think I'm going to do a chapter where Callie sings this song 'cause it reminds me of how she feels about the Fosters and vice-versa. **

**Thanks guys!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! So I know it's been a while but school has been keeping me really busy! I've already got tests, orals, and projects due soon. But Mockingjay is the only thing inspiring me right now. And we're only three months away from the Christmas special! Yay! I'm so excited!**

**So I really hope you enjoy this chapter! We finally meet two of the four new characters. Now remember not to judge a book by its cover. That's a little hint I'll give you about them. Also tell me how you liked this chapter guys! Have a good week! **

Callie hated hypocrites. People who would tell you something, and the when you dare to say it back, they get all offended. People who couldn't take the criticism, but who would give it without a shadow of a doubt. That's basically what Emily sounded like.

Two days at Archfield and Callie had already gotten to know many personalities. It was basically a skill she had received by being pushed from one school to the other over the past sixteen years. There were always the different types of personalities.

The popular's. The ones who smoked, spread rumours, spoke shit, were the best looking most of the time and were the biggest hypocrites of the school. There were the ones like Callie, the ones who were practically invisible, only seen through the eyes of friends, and barely even that. There were the smart ones, the best grades, the best traits, the teacher's pets. And not to mention the athletics, the ones who always get the best grades in P.E, the soccer stars and quarterbacks. And then, of course, the losers, the people everyone felt bad for, except for the ones who made fun of them that is.

The problem was; Archfield was an all girl's school, which made all this silly drama and rumours much worse. Boys weren't exactly the type who would go around spreading rumours about how someone got a bad haircut. Girls, on the other hand, were.

Not only was it bad enough that Archfield consisted of girls only, but the worst part was that ninety-eight percent of this school was filled with girls' whose fathers have more money than imaginable. Which meant most of them are used to being treated like princesses. Which of course, lead to them being total snobs.

Not everyone was generally a bitch. Just like any school; there are always the sweethearts and the assholes. It's just that Archfield consisted mostly of assholes, rather than sweethearts. Something completely unfortunate.

"Miss Jacob." A high pitched voice woke Callie from her daze, and her eyes laid on the women who spat out her name. "Somewhere in the clouds again, I suppose. Or was it a trip to the moon this time?"

"No, actually I was on the sun," Callie spat back, her eyes burning with rage. "Hoping that it would burn me to death so I wouldn't have to be here." Talking back to teachers was an outrage at any school, but at the prim and prop Archfield, you'd have to pray to come out alive after saying something like that.

Mrs. Indigo was the worst teacher at Archfield, she had no sense of humour, no happiness, no shine. Nothing about her was bright. Even the black dress and dark mahogany lipstick wasn't exactly appealing. She was obviously, not the happiest person. Getting Mrs. Indigo angry, was basically a death wish, as well as talking back to her. But Callie was willing to take the chance.

"Callie Jacob! How dare you speak back to me," the old women yakked, her grey hair pulled back in a bun, showing all her of her face scrunched in anger. The other girls, laughing loudly in the class at Callie's response to the strictest teacher in the school. "Principal's office, now!"

There was no hesitation as Callie stood from her desk and walked out of the class, heading towards the principals desk. She could still hear Mrs. Indigo on intercom, explaining to the secretary about Callie's behaviour.

Callie let out a large sigh she didn't know she was holding in as she finally turned the corner, her fingers running against the smooth creamy walls of Archfield. Her hands slowly dropped down onto the skirt she despised wearing, the dull grey was seen throughout the school, everyone wearing the same thing. It was just so… boring.

"Callie." The secretary's voice spoke her name the second she was by her desk. "This is the second time in the two small weeks you've been here. I know a new school is always hard but-"

"It's not that hard. I mean, I go used to it. When you've been to as many schools as I have, you kinda have to." There it was; the one look Callie despised the most. The look of pity. Callie hated pity. She didn't need it, she didn't have time for it.

"Mrs. Park is ready for you, Callie," the secretary spoke kindly, a smile across her face. The kind of smile you'd give to child to make them feel better. The ones Callie didn't tolerate. Callie smiles back though, not the real kind, just the kind to make someone not feel rejected.

The second Callie entered the room, closing the door behind her, she heard the shallow voice which belonged to Archfield's leader call out her name. Mrs. Park. Callie turned to face her, her bright blue eyes as cold as ice, and her black hair hanging down stick straight. She truly was a beautiful, the lean body and high cheekbones. The long fingers and small nose. Everything about her was just quite perfect.

"Good morning," Callie smiled a smile, which was everything but genuine, and walked towards her, sitting across from her.

"Callie, Callie, Callie. Second time in two weeks, not counting the time I was here to show you around," Mrs. Park includes, leaning forward on her chair. "Listen, I'm not here to waste time, because I don't want to. Robert is a kind man, Sophia a bright student, and by the looks of your report cards, you have wonderful grades. But a wild attitude will not be permitted here. I can easily expel you, and I don't want to, your grades are better than most students. But Archfield has been known for the school with the most well behaved young women in California. Don't ruin your chances."

"I won't," Callie lies. "I promise."

Mrs. Park smiles brightly, her pearl white teeth beaming. "Good, I knew I could count on you, Miss Quinn."

"It's Miss Jacob, actually," Callie barely mutters, escaping from her seat. "Oh right, I apologize, Miss Jacobs. Why is it again, you're not a Quinn?" Although it was none of her business, the last thing Callie needed was for Robert to hear her talk shit about his family.

"I have another family waiting for me," Callie tells her honestly, waiting by the door. "_My _family actually. And the only reason I'm still with the Quinn's is because the stupid judge who is supposed to decide my faith had a family emergency; his mother got sick or something. So he canceled, but there will be another court date, and I'll hopefully get to escape from here, and go back home."

And without another word, Callie closed the door and walked back to her class.

* * *

"Callie, wait up!" School had finally ended, and Callie was going to walk home. Usually she'd be forced to walk with Sophia, but she had a dentist appointment, and Jill came to pick her up thirty minutes before school finished.

Callie turned around and saw a flamed head run towards her, followed by another girl who had dyed her hair a bright blue. Callie didn't exactly have friends, so people calling after her was quite a surprise. Without a doubt in her mind, Callie just stopped waiting for the girls to get closer. After all the pressure of the past month, she needed people to talk to other than both families feuding for her.

"Hey," the redheaded girl smiled at her, green eyes sparkling brightly. "You're Callie; from English class with Mrs. Indigo! You've got lots of courage to talk back to her, you're the first girl who has in months." Callie couldn't help but feel curious; _months?_

"So I'm not the first one?" Callie wondered out loud, the girl with the blue hair laughed, obviously remembering the moment. "Nope, this girl, Violet, she totally lost it with her when Mrs. Indigo failed her after a perfect test. She swore and threatened; it was absolutely hilarious."

"Sounds like it," Callie admit, thinking about the reaction that the old woman must've worn onto her face. "What happened to her, Violet, I mean." Callie started walking, one girl on each side of her.

"She got expelled," the redhead explained, tying up her long hair. "Her parents were going to get her out of that school anyway, they were moving to Paris."

"Paris?" Callie exclaimed; she'd rarely heard about people moving from Cali to Paris. "Yeah, she's got family there and her dad got this even better job. They were pretty much millionaires already, so I couldn't imagine how much their worth now."

"Isn't everyone at this school millionaires?" Callie laughed, but the other two girls didn't. "Not everyone," The girl with the blue hair admit, her smile fading slightly. "Kinda like me, and also Lex."

"So, how'd you get in the school?" Callie asked, her curiosity growing wider. So this school wasn't exactly all rich assholes. "Well, my grades are pretty high. But Archfield also consists of amazing athletes. I've basically been playing soccer since I could walk."

"Yeah, Tessa is the best soccer player around," the redhead, or _Lex,_ explains. "And I've basically been swimming since I was born." Callie nodded now. No kidding so many kids at Archfield were so in shape. They were practically sport prodigies.

"I'm Alexis by the way, but everyone just calls me Lex," she explains, holding out her hand, which Callie shakes gratefully. "And I'm Tessa."

"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Callie." They both smile at her. Tessa's smile wide and crooked, Alexis' smile wide as well, but much straighter. Both girls were indeed quite pretty. Alexis was tall and lean, long arms and legs. Basically the typical swimmers body. Tessa was also pretty tall, her legs were quite muscular as well as her arms.

"So, where'd you come from, Callie," Tessa asked, heading towards a vending machine near a shopping mall they passed by. "Well, it's kinda complicated."

"Please," Alexis laughed, handing Tessa a dollar bill. "Complicated and I are so close by now." Callie made a face, which Alexis obviously felt the need to response to.

"Let's just say my life is, very, very complicated." It was now Callie's turn to laugh. There was without a doubt in her mind that Alexis' life was more complicated than Callie's.

"I'll bet you a soda that my life is more complicated," Callie dares, sitting on the bench next to vending machine, Tessa sitting next to her, Alexis sitting on the floor in front of them.

"Is the bench not comfy enough, Lex?" Tessa asks laughing as Alexis rolls her eyes yet laughs as well. "You know I'm a rebel Tess."

"Oh, righttttt!" Callie manages a laugh as well. These two were obviously close. Best friend's maybe? "Whatever, Tessa, stop stealing the spotlight! Anyways so Callie, please explain your complicated life."

"Well long story short, my mom died when I was ten. That basically left my brother and I into the foster system because my father was now going to jail because he was the drunk driver that killed her," Callie starts, both girls already shocked.

"Anyways, after six years of all kinds of different houses, we finally met the Fosters. The first family who ever actually cared, and I mean _really _cared. They weren't like pretending or anything. They took us under their wing, they cared. They also had three other kids. One of them, he was my age. Anyways, I kinda kissed him the day after they wanted to adopt us, my brother found out, called me selfish. So because he deserved to be adopted, I ran away. That landed me into a group home, where I then came back, finally ready to be adopted.

Finally the day came, I was really excited, but turns out my father; the one who killed my mom, isn't biologically my dad. My biological dad, Robert found out of my existence, he was nice and all. I met my half-sister, Sophia, and umm everything was great, he agreed on signing the papers. Unfortunately, my half-sister decided to rip them up, and when I told Robert I wanted him to sign the new ones, he couldn't so I ended up being forced to live with him. I was supposed to have a court date like two weeks ago, but they had an emergency and couldn't make it."

"Long story short my ass," Tessa laughed, causing both Lex and Callie to laugh as well. "Must've sucked, being so close to finally getting a final answer and then having them not show up."

It did.

* * *

_Callie's fingers fiddled with the soft fabric of her dress, waiting for the Fosters to show up. For now she was sitting with Sophia, who also seemed nervous. The thing was her nervousness was the complete opposite of Callie's. Suddenly, she saw tall figure of Lena, making her stand within seconds._

_The two practically ran into each other's arms. "Hey, Love!" Lena exclaimed, holding the girl tightly, Callie holding back with just as much pressure. "Hi." Callie leant her head against Lena's shoulder, missing the comfort she brought to her. Missing the comfort all of them brought her. _

"_Hey, Sweets," Stef spoke with kindness walking into the room with Mariana and Jude by her side. Immediately, she detaches herself from Lena and engulfs all of them into one big hug. "We missed you, too," Jude laughs, making chocking noises, trying to explain how suffocated he's feeling by her arm around his neck. _

"_Oh, sorry," Callie laughs letting go of all of them, walking over to Jesus and Brandon in the background, hugging them tightly. Both boys embrace her tightly, a smile wide on each of their faces. _

"_How's everything?" Mariana asks, coming over by her side, wrapping an arm around the girls' shoulders. "It's alright I guess. Hopefully, today we can actually make this official, and I can go back home. I'm just really hoping it'll go the way I want it to."_

"_We do, too," Stef says, a smile wide onto her face, her hand clasped tightly onto Lena's. Callie smiles back at them. "Umm, Mrs. Adams-Foster and Mr. Quinn." A voice pops out of the shadows._

"_Yes?" Lena, Stef and Robert all answer. The man just smiles at them, the weak kind. "May you please come with me?" Stef and Lena share a look, but they reluctantly follow behind Robert anyways. The man goes into the corner, speaking at them, yet looking back at Callie very now and then. Eventually all four of them look back at Callie, and instinctively, she knows its bad news. _

_Obviously, why wouldn't it be? That's all the girl's been getting. Bad news here, bad news there, bad news everywhere. Why would it magically stop? Isn't that how things usually worked though, they just unexpectedly stop, just like how they can start. Maybe that's why she had the slightest inkling of hope. Maybe that's why she's been hoping._

_Robert is the first one to go forward, about to stop next to her, but he moves forward instead going over to Jill and Sophia, both of them just as curious. Lena and Stef move close as well, all five kids confused._

"_What happened now Moms?" Jesus asked, Brandon nodding in agreement as well as Jude and Mariana. "The judge had to cancel today. His mother is very sick, and he needs to go take care of her for now."_

"_Wait, can't we just get another judge?" Brandon asks, but Callie's hope is already broken down into shreds, flying away like dust in the wind. _

"_It doesn't exactly work that way, Honey," Lena explains, trying to force a smile onto her face. "Obviously," Jude starts, looking down at his feet. "Nothing works the way we want it to." Callie just looks at him, a small piece of her heart breaking even more than it already is. His innocence was slowly starting to shed away, the one thing she had fought for, for most of her life. _

_She knew it wasn't going to stay forever. Everyone loses their innocence eventually. She just hoped Jude's would last longer. But right now she realizes it, maybe it was gone all along? Why wouldn't it be? He had to witness her go through hell. Isn't that just as awful as experiencing it? Isn't that actually experiencing it? _

"_Listen," Stef starts, moving forward towards Callie who hadn't bothered speaking. "This little error, it doesn't mean anything. We'll see him as soon as he can, but for now-"_

"_I'll have to continue living with the Quinn's," Callie had murmured, watching Lena and Stef nod their heads, their hearts also feeling pain. At that being said, all of the kids snap their heads up, looking at Callie in sadness. _

"_We're sorry, Love," Lena said, placing a kiss upon the girl's temple. "Why? It's not your fault." Callie smiles, and before Stef can answer, Brandon does. _

"_It doesn't have to be our fault, for us to be sorry." And then Callie smiles at him, remembering the week when Stef had gotten shot, he had told her that in the kitchen. "Brandon's right," Jesus insists. "It's not fair for you." _

"_Nothing is ever fair for me," Callie laughs bitterly. Stef and Lena smile softly at her attitude. "But soon, it will be."_

_And for one of the first times in her life, she didn't believe Stef's words. _

* * *

"Listen, maybe we can cheer you up," Alexis wakes Callie from her memory. "Tonight we don't really have anything to do, and its Friday. Tessa is coming over with our two other friend's, it'd be cool if you can come."

"Yeah!" Tessa agrees, looking into Callie's brown eyes, Tessa's blue ones bright. "It'll be fun. We're having a horror movie marathon."

Callie just smiled widely, actually appreciating the fact that someone would invite her somewhere. The last true best friend she's had was before her mom died.

"You know what," Callie smiles at them. "Why not?"

**Hope you enjoyed guys! Tell me how you liked it into the reviews! **


	7. Chapter 6

**Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! I am grateful for many things, but The Fosters is definitely a big one! So anyways, this chapter ends in quite a cliff-hanger, and an intense one at that. So the first memory is going to connect to the last one, that's why I wrote it! Anyways I hope you enjoy guys! Hope you have a great week! **

_Callie felt safe in her bed. With the covers draped around her, and her head tucked comfortably over the pillow, there wasn't one sense of discomfort. Everything was warm. Her body felt warm, her heart did, too. _

_The dream was a sweet one. Laughing in a meadow with her mother, her father and brother tossing around a football. It seemed like they were having a picnic. There was a basket leaning crookedly empty on the blanket they had brought. Callie and her mother were eating blackberries, the delicious flavour bursting into their mouths at every bite. _

_Jude and Donald kept tossing around the ball, Jude dropping it occasionally, Donald teasing him lightly every time he did. It was almost a memory. But memories were supposed to be things that happened, not things we wish would have. Those were dreams. And this was a dream._

_Suddenly, the image of a beautiful green meadow and bright yellow sun beaming over them, drowning into the pale blue of the sky and the swirly white clouds had dissipated. It was replaced with another dream. Everything had turned dark. All Callie saw was a mahogany colored sky dotted with piercing black clouds and an oddly deep orange sun. And then everything panned down, like in a movie._

_All of a sudden, the only thing the girl saw was the repeated Image of a women flying out the windshield of a car like a ragdoll. Over, and over, and over, and over. But this wasn't simply just any women, this was her mother. And this wasn't just a dream. This was a memory._

_Callie's eyes burst open, a loud gasp escaping her lips. Instinctively, she looked around the room, only to find the body of her brother facing her from his bed across the room, the boys' eyes wide open. The fifteen year old let out a large sigh and dropped back down onto her small bed, her head banging against her pillow._

"_Its fine, Jude," she whispered, loud enough for him to hear, but not loud enough to wake their foster father. "It was just a bad dream. You can go back to sleep now."_

"_What was it about?" The eleven year old asked persistently, tucking his covers closer to him. Jude was always fascinated when Callie had nightmares; she rarely had nightmares. Little did the boy know, she had them almost every night, but Callie's always been better at hiding her feelings. She always was._

"_Nothing you need to know about," Callie insisted, turning onto her other side, her back facing the younger boy. "Now go back to sleep, we have school tomorrow." Despite Callie's best attempts, no matter how many times she tried closing her eyes it wouldn't work. Every time she tried, all she saw was her mother flying out of the windshield. She figured it'd be best to keep them open instead. Besides she'd have to be up in only four more hours. _

"_Was it about Mom?" Jude had asked curiously. He leant his head heavily against the pillow, burying the side of his head further into it, thinking it'd give him comfort. Instead, he still felt the emptiness; the space in his heart where his mother should be._

"_Mhm," Callie murmured in confirmation. Jude just nodded solemnly, closing his eyes tightly. "What did you see?" Callie didn't want to answer, but she knew he'd keep on asking, so she did. _

"_Her death." She answered him, but she never said she'd answer him completely. Besides, he knew how it happened, he'd dreamt about it too. They both have. This wasn't her first time, and it wouldn't be her last. _

"_You saw her fly out the windshield, huh?" Callie didn't have to nod, she didn't have to say anything either. The silence was the answer. It usually always was with Callie and nightmares. Unlike her brother, she despised talking about her feelings. No matter how many times she told Jude it's better to talk it out when he'd get nightmares, she'd never listen to herself. _

_If Callie ever listened to most of the things she'd tell Jude, she couldn't imagine what would happen. Jude's young, she's forced to tell him comforting white lies sometimes. But Callie was the older one; she wasn't supposed to listen to what she told an eleven year old boy to make him feel better._

"_It's alright, Cal," Jude whispered softly, trying to make her feel better. Callie laughed lightly at him. His attempts were adorable. Just the fact that he tried was adorable. _

"_I know that, Bud. Go back to sleep," she whispered quietly to him, and she could hear the rough texture of his pillow moving, indicating he had nodded. "G'night, Buddy."_

"_G'night, Callie. If you dream about her again tonight, just come in bed with me."_

_And this time, she laughed loudly. Adorable._

* * *

"Please!" It wasn't supposed to come out sounding like she was begging, but it did.

"Callie, I don't know," Robert said through the phone. He wasn't willing for Callie to go over to a girl's house who she barely knew. But he was yet still willing to do almost anything for her, especially with the attitude she carried around, and the particular feelings of hatred she had towards him. Anything that could get her to have the slightest affection for him would be worth it. "You don't know her. _I don't know her._"

"Robert please!" Callie had yelled in a whisper, the thing you'd do to try and sound angry, yet you didn't want to embarrass yourself in public. "I'm not exactly someone who makes friends easily, just ask my moms. This would sound like a miracle to them!"

"Well Callie, I don't know if you haven't noticed but I'm not them!" Robert spat, the words falling out of his mouth before his brain could even think.

"Obviously, I have." Callie's words were as cold as ice to the man. "Fine, Callie," Robert sighed heavily. "You can go with them. Just be back by eleven or something." Callie let out a small giggle of relief. _Well it wasn't that hard, was it?_

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, and before she could even hear his voice, she closed the phone. Callie walked over to the two girls who sat there, waiting patiently.

"What'd your dad say?" Tessa asked, taking a sip from her water bottle, Alexis nodding behind her, curious as well.

"He said it's alright!" Callie exclaimed, a grin spread across her face, the two girls grinning as well. "That's fantastic! C'mon let's leave now, my car isn't parked far."

"Alright," Callie said, walking in between the two of them. "Oh and guys?" Callie asked, crossing her hands across her chest.

"Yeah?"

"He's not my dad."

* * *

Tristan was attractive. Tessa was attractive. Obviously, the two were dating. It always worked that way in life. Attractive people dated attractive people. Relationships worked well for attractive people, that's because attractive people like attractive people. And unattractive people, well yeah they liked attractive people, too. That was the unfortunate issue.

Callie wouldn't exactly consider herself as unattractive. But she wouldn't call herself beautiful either. People like Tessa and Alexis, well they shouldn't exactly have any problem saying it.

"So, Callie," Tristan asked, an arm wrapped around Tessa who leant her head upon his shoulder. "What do you do? For fun, I mean."

"Well," Callie started, standing straighter on the couch. "I like photography." Alexis' face light up when Callie had said photography. "Really, photography? I love photography."

"Really, that's cool. How'd you get into it?" Callie asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich Tessa had made her. "My aunt. She's got this whole business for it. She mostly takes photos for events. Kinda like weddings or birthday parties. So I guess I got it from her."

"That sounds fun, I always wished I could have my own photography business," Callie smiled, yet it wasn't a genuine one. And by the look on Tristan's face, he noticed, yet Tessa and Alexis didn't. "How about you, Cal. How'd you get into it?"

"Well there's not really much you can do when you're a twelve year old girl in the foster system during summer," Callie laughed sarcastically, Tristan noticing her hardly sensible tone once again. He was so _observant._ "Anyways, the mother. She had this cool camera. And there was a huge backyard, a pretty one, too. So one day I just decided to start snapping pictures. Whether it was the swing set, or the flowers, everything just turned out so… nice. I just knew, that's what I liked, and it's what I was good at." They were all just so interested. She hadn't ever seen people her age seem so intrigued in her life before. She'd barely seen older people intrigued in her life other than Stef and Lena.

"You're so amazing," Tessa admit, biting into her ham sandwich harshly. "My life is so boring, but yours, it's just one thing after the next. You're lucky."

"Please," Callie laughed bitterly, a little more than intended. "I'd be glad to trade." Tessa and Alexis grinned at her response, Tristan as well, his seeming more genuine. Suddenly, all Callie heard was the sound of a doorbell.

"I'll get it," Tessa exclaimed, jumping up to answer despite the fact that it was Alexis' house. "So, Lex," Tristan started, biting into his pulled pork sandwich. "Where are your parents?"

"On some stupid business trip somewhere, and my little brother and sister are spending the night at some friend's house." Alexis leant her head against the side of the couch across from Tristan, Callie sitting at the complete other end of her. "So they left you alone?"

"Yup, they trust me. I don't know why though, I haven't ever really done anything to prove my responsibility. If anything, I've only done the opposite," Lex laughs, biting into her salad. Tristan laughs at her response, and suddenly his face lights up when he sees someone show up.

"Axton!" He exclaims, standing from his heat to wrap the boy in a bear hug. "No fucking way!" The two laugh has they pat one another on the backs continuously. Suddenly, before Callie can even react, Alexis laughs and burst up from the chair, rushing into the boy's arms. Callie hasn't felt this awkward in ages.

"You weren't supposed to be back until next month! When Tessa told me she invited someone else I thought she meant like, Jake or something!" Axton just laughs, his blonde hair falling into his crystal blue eyes. "Yeah, we arrived earlier than expected." He tightens his grip on the girl once Tristan lets go.

Suddenly, Axton opens his bright eye, and unburies himself from Alexis' shoulder to find Callie sitting down awkwardly on the chair, fiddling with her hair. _Why was everyone in this room so damn attractive? _"Oh um, whose this?" Axton asked politely, unlatching himself from Alexis. "Oh right!"

Alexis moved forward, her arm still latching on to Axton's. Everyone goes back to where they sat before, but their energy but more vibrant. "Axton, this is our new friend, Callie. She just came to Archfield a few weeks ago. Callie this is Axton; he's my boyfriend. He and Tristan come from Archland School, basically the boy version of Archfield. We met them at a party."

"Nice to meet you Callie," Axton extends his hand, a wide smile spread across the boy's face. His smile was so wide and straight. His teeth were pearly white; so perfect. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that this kid was rich. His hair was neatly comedy, his sweater made out of some thick wool. And he was just so attractive. Tristan was attractive too, but differently. Tristan was a messy sexy, Axton was a neat sexy. Either way, both sexy.

"Nice to meet you," Callie smiles at him, sticking her hand out as well. His hand was clammy, yet he had a strong grip. "Axton just came back from Hawaii. He goes often. His father sometimes has a job there, and here. So basically he has two houses."

"Jeez can you make me sound more of a rich snob, Lex," Axton laughs, his eyes darting to Callie, who forces herself to smile at him the second his eyes meet hers. She couldn't afford losing the friends she barely eve started making. "Well, I'm just being honest."

"You know what," Tessa started, grasping onto her school bag which laid on the floor in front of her, opening it widely. "We should celebrate." Callie was confused at first, celebrate with what? Suddenly, Tessa takes her hand out of the bag, revealing a pack of cigarettes.

Instantly, Tristan jumps at it, grabbing the pack from his girlfriend. "Thank God!" He exclaims, taking one out from the pack and twirling it around with his long, narrow fingerers. "I haven't had a good smoke for weeks! My sister found my pack and threatened to tell my parents, but I convened her not to. The girl will accept any deal that has to do with a date with one of my good looking buddies."

Alexis laughs, reaching for one, too. Tristan throws her one, and one to Tessa. "It's been ages for me, too," Alexis states. "My parents are observant when they actually _are_ around."

"Here you go, Ax," Tristan throws one to the boy, who catches immediately, but wears a reluctant look upon his face, barely noticeable. But Callie noticed. Callie always noticed.

"Tristan!" Tessa called out to him, too busy lighting his cigarette. "Can you actually be a good person for once and hand one to Callie?" Tristan's face lights up immediately.

"Oh right, sorry Callie," Tristan smiles at her and throws her one. Despite the fact that she caught it, in her mind she was fighting whether or not she should actually _take _it. "You've smoked before, right Callie?" Tristan asks, handing the lighter to Tessa.

"Umm, no actually," Callie tells the truth this time, not knowing how to lie on this one. "This is my first time." Tristan raises his eyebrows, seeming surprised. Why would he seem surprised, she didn't exactly come off as the type who would smoke, or did she? Nah.

"Well you're in for some fun then," Alexis explains, handing Callie the lighter. Callie flashes her a weak smile. Fun? She didn't think so. Callie knew better than to do something so foolish, she's much stronger than the temptation of the four other people in the room inhaling the grotesque nicotine. The _dangerous_ nicotine. But she didn't want to lose the only friends she had. Maybe just one cigarette?

From the corner of her eye as Callie took the lighter from Alexis, all she could see was Axton look at her, curiosity written across his face. Reluctantly, Callie watched the flame light up, the orange flame dancing forward and backwards. Slowly, Callie moved the flame close to her cigarette and then, they touched. Callie watched as the tip began to burn. And then, without a second thought, she inhaled it.

She tried keeping it in, but she couldn't manage. Almost seconds later, she burst out coughing, everyone laughing slightly. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Axton explains, a smile spread across his face. "It happened to all of us once."

"Great," Callie mutters under her breath, still coughing slightly.

"Congrats, Callie," Tessa laughs, breathing out the smoke from her nose.

"Why?"

"'Cause you're officially one of us now."

* * *

"Shit!" Callie exclaims noticing the time. "I have to be home, Robert is going to kill me!" Callie immediately rushed out of her seat, put on her vest and placed her school bag on her back.

"He told me to be back by eleven and now its midnight, I'm so fucked." Axton just laughs and stands up, unravelling himself from Alexis. "I can drive you if you want. I have to go home, too anyways." Alexis just looks up to him, surprised.

"I thought you were staying the night?" Alexis, slipped her hand into his standing up. "Tristan can drive her." Axton smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the tip of her nose, which she leant into instinctively.

"I forgot to tell you my parents texted me while I was in the bathroom," he says, grabbing his school bag as well. "I can't, they want me to unpack. But I can stay tomorrow maybe."

"Yeah, I guess," Alexis says, sounding disappointed. Callie doesn't know what to do, she doesn't want to feel like a priority she can get home herself. "Its fine, I can just take the bus."

"Hell no," Axton exclaims coming towards her. "There are lots of creeps out there on a Friday night. Or Saturday night now, I guess." Callie laughs.

"Yeah I know," she says smiling. "Trust me, I've seen. I've even lived with some. Which makes me used to it, stay with Lex, I can take the bus."

"Sorry Callie, I just can't let that happen." Axton smiles at her, his pearly white teeth flashing again. "Anyways, bye you guys." Tristan and Tessa wave them bye, explaining how they'll be stating over the night. Alexis just smiles goodbye, obviously irritated that he'd rather drive Callie home, than stay with her.

* * *

Callie enters Axton's car. Axton's _expensive _car. "Nice car," she states as he sits next to her, slowly driving out of Alexis' driveway. "My dad was always interested in cars. He was a mechanic. Well, he _is_ a mechanic."

"Your dad's a mechanic? I thought he owned a huge corporation." Callie just shrugs, slouching into her seat slightly.

"Well my biological dad, Robert, he owns a corporation. But my _real dad_, the one who actually raised me; he's a mechanic," Callie explains, yet Axton still looks confused.

"My mom and Robert were married, but my mom wasn't exactly the wealthiest so they forced a divorce onto them. So they got divorced but my mom was still pregnant. Then, she met Donald, the mechanic, and he agreed to raise me with her." Axton just nods his head in understanding.

"So what happened now? Your mom and Robert got back together and you live with them?" Callie laughed bitterly at that one. "Oh no, no, no. My mom died when I was ten. So my brother Jude and I went into the foster system 'cause my dad was drunk driving, so he had to go to jail. Basically we had no one else so, yeah."

"Oh," Axton says awkwardly. "That's awful."

"You're the first person who hasn't apologized to me," Callie admits, looking to him, the cigarette still lingering in her breath. "You know the normal reaction. The whole 'oh I'm so sorry, dear,' kind of thing."

"Well it's not my fault, so why should I be sorry?" Callie turns her head to look at him, a smile spreading across her face. Finally, someone who thought the way she did. "So what happened then? Did Robert take in you and your brother?"

"You're a funny guy," Callie laughs at him. "You think everything happens like it should in fairy tales huh? The whole happily ever after thing."

"Not really," he states, his crystal eyes flashing to look at her, and then back at the road. "I just thought that you're someone who deserves to be happy, so maybe you got good luck."

"Yeah well, I got just the opposite of that." Callie hangs her head down a little, not wanting to make any kind of contact with him.

"After six years in the foster system with my little brother, we finally found a good home. Two women who wanted us as their own, and three other kids accepting us as their siblings, but the day the adoption came, it couldn't happen because I didn't have Robert's consent. I was so angry, why would my destiny land within the hands of a man who couldn't raise me; who didn't raise me? It wasn't fair. It still isn't fair."

"So you live with him now?" Callie just nods her head lightly.

"You know there has to be perks to living with him," Axton says, smiling brightly.

"Like what?" She asks him, smiling widely as well.

"Like you getting to meet us," he says, but then he shakes his head and smiles wider. "I think it's even better for me, though. Getting to meet you."

And before Callie can answer, all she sees is a light come fast and abruptly in the front of them. Suddenly, all she hears is a loud crash. And then, she blacks out.

* * *

_Callie and Jude still couldn't sleep that night. The two of them both lay awake, staring at the wall intently. _

"_Callie?" The boy speaks her name quietly, not wanting to wake up their foster father. "Yeah, Bud?"_

"_Do you think it hurt when Mom got into the car accident?"_

_And Callie thought hard about this. Car accidents happened all the time, and sure it looked awful, and those who lived were gravelly injured. But those who died, they were lucky. They didn't live to feel the pain. They didn't get to remember it. And that's what makes it hurt the most; remembering._

"_No," Callie says weakly. "I don't think it hurt." _

* * *

**Ok so if you guys are confused, yes Callie did get into a car accident with Axton! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review how you feel about the chapter! Thanks guys! **


	8. Chapter 7

**Holas guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Everyone was sleeping soundly the night of the accident. No one would've guessed anything had gone wrong. Of course, they weren't pleased with the fact that Robert currently had custody; but there was no doubt in any of their minds that Call wasn't safe. Besides, Stef and Lena know how responsible Callie is.

So when the phone had rang late that night, no one had really expected it. There was no reason to. In their minds, Callie was safe. _Safe_. Something they promised she'd be if she were with them. But she wasn't. She wasn't with them, and she was no longer safe.

Stef and Lena are awake the second after the first ring of the phone had blasted throughout the Foster's home, echoes making its way into everyone's ears. Of course, being awake doesn't really mean wanting to get up. But Stef had managed anyway. Why would someone be calling at midnight? Something must've happened.

Reluctantly, she escaped the bed, moaning and muttering as she unravelled herself from the cocoon of blankets, Lena still lying in bed, her eyes shut tight. Stef grasped onto the phone closest to her room, the one on a coffee table. "Hello?" Stef croaked out, her voice tired and weak.

"Stef!" The voice was urgent. Stef hadn't checked the number, but it was a deep voice. Barely recognizable due to the loud tone and sirens in the background. Instantly, Stef knew something was wrong. "Robert?" At the sound of his name, Lena's eyes snapped open, and she sat up, still sitting in bed.

"Stef, something's happened," he said, his voice filled with fear and stress. The second he had told her that, she was already getting dressed. She knew something's happened to Callie. "Oh God! What happened? Is she sick, did she get hurt?"

Lena was out of bed by now. "_What's wrong?" _She asked to her wife, whispering urgently. "_Something happened to Callie." _Immediately, Lena started getting dressed as well, grabbing whatever she could throw on first.

"No, worse," Robert said softly. Stef was listening more intently now. She could hear sirens, and Robert muttering 'excuse me's' trying to shuffle his way past people. There was no doubt in her mind that Callie was in the hospital. "She was driving home with a friend and she got into a huge car accident; the car crashed into them and it bumped into another one."

Stef didn't hear one word after 'car accident'. "We're coming." Stef buttoned her pants and ran into Brandon's room. Lena still curious, throwing on a blouse and following behind Stef.

"Stef, what happened?" Lena asked, but Stef didn't answer, she was too busy waking up her oldest. "B, B, Brandon. Honey, wake up." The boy jolted awake, looking around at first, confused. Then, he regained his full consciousness and sat straight up.

"What happened, Mom? Is everything alright?" Stef looked around his room, finally finding the car keys he had borrowed. "No, Callie's been in a car accident." Immediately, Lena gasped loudly, panicking out loud, repeating 'oh my God,' repeatedly. Brandon also wore a panicked expression, standing from bed his eyes open wide in shock.

"What! Is she okay?" Brandon asked worriedly, going to grab a sweater from the coat rack by his bed, thinking he was going with them. "I don't know, Love. But Mama and I are going to emergency room and you have to stay here with the twins and Jude."

"What?" Brandon spat, shoving his jacket on. "No, I'm going with you, we all are." He walked forward, but Stef placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "No, B. You have to stay here for now. Right now, only we have to go, and it's best that you all don't see Callie this was. There were three cars involved in the crash, Callie's included."

Lena felt like throwing up. Or fainting. But above all, she wanted to hold that girl and know whether or not she was okay. She needed to be with her. "But, Mom…" Stef placed a kiss on Brandon's cheek hastily. "Not but's. We're leaving now. When your brother's and sister wake up, remember to tell them kindly and softly. Especially Jude and Mariana. I'll call you as soon as you can, and I'll get your dad to come this afternoon."

Without a word, she was out of the room, Lena clutching her hand, following next to her. Before Brandon could even go downstairs to catch up to them, he saw the two of them drive away, going to protect their daughter

* * *

_**She**_was lying in green grass. Her fingers twirling the pieces of grass she had ripped from the ground she lied on.

The stars were beautiful on this mountain. They looked like dancing, shiny little people. Small but bright. Small but powerful. Just like her.

She felt special on the tall mountain. Only where she lay, was the grass green, but all around her there was a cold, crisp snow. Cold and beautiful. Ice slowly creped its way towards her, but it couldn't touch her.

Nothing cold seemed to touch her.

She was surrounded by cold, yet she was _warm._

And the air was thick. It felt like a gas being forced from a machine. But she _saw _it. Little swirls coming out of her mouth every time she exhaled. Like when you'd breathe out fog in the cold.

And she didn't feel like a person. She felt like gas herself. Ready to float away into thin air.

And nothing hurt. She felt like nothing could hurt. Not now, not where she was.

Everything seemed like crystals, and flowers, and warmth, and life.

Usually, she was afraid of being alone. But now, as she lays on this mountain, watching the little, dancing bright people, breathing the machine-created gas, not feeling human, not hurting, there was not a feeling she enjoyed more.

Lena and Stef burst through the doors of the emergency room, making their way to the waiting room, clutching each other's hand tightly. This had been one of the longest walks of their lives. It was so similar to Brandon's situation when he had gotten beaten.

As they entered the room, just the sight of Robert made Stef wanna jump on him. Even if he was holding one of Sophia's hands sadly, Jill holding her other one, she still wanted to beat him. She knew it wasn't exactly his fault. But right now, she needed something to blame, and he was the best option.

"How dare you!" Stef spat, moving towards him, her finger pointing its way against his chest. "What made you think it was alright to let her go out on a Friday night?"

"This isn't my fault!" He answered gently, moving her hand back cautiously. "She had actually asked me, and she made friends. _Friends. _She even told me that you guys would let her 'cause you'd be surprised she'd even want to!"

Stef just chuckled sarcastically in his face. "I mean, what made you think it was alright to let her go out on a Friday night _without our consent!"_ Lena just stood behind her, her arms crossed across her chest, looking for a nurse. She was too worried about Callie to have time to argue uselessly with Robert.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Foster," Robert said loudly, getting angry himself. "But I have current custody of her; which means I make the decisions."

"You might have custody of her for now, but we are her Mother's and she is our daughter, and we will be more to her than all of you combined could ever be!" She knew it was harsh, but she was just so _scared._ She had to let anything out. So she continued. "Do you know how worried I am? That is MY daughter in there dying!"

"She's my daughter, too!" Robert insisted, the entire room staring at them. "And if you think she isn't well you should know that I care about her as much as I care for Sophia!" The younger girl had tears streaking down her face, her hands clutched together. She didn't want comfort from her parents, she wanted to be alone.

"Hey!" Lena yelled out, coming towards them, placing a hand on their shoulder. "I understand you're angry, but we can't take what happened back. So for now can we please focus on Callie! We can resolve this later on!"

Stef looked into Lena's eyes, the only thing managing to calm her down. Slowly, she took in a deep breath, slipping her hand into her wife's. "Lena's right," she says softly. "We should focus on the person we need to focus on."

"What did the doctor's say, Robert?" Lena asked, moving to sit next to Robert, one chair in between the two of them, Stef sitting on Lena's other side, peeking her head to look at Robert. She could practically hear her own hear beating.

"Dr. Parish told us that she's got a crushed lung, as well as a broken rib cage, a broken leg, as well as a broken arm and a few cuts. The worst one is on her forehead." Robert said it like he's been practising, and repeating it over and over throughout his head. And no one blamed him.

"My poor baby," Lena murmured softly under her breath, turning to Stef. "Do you think she' holding up alright?"

"She's Callie," Stef says, a smile creeping up her lips gently. "She's holding up just fine." And Stef barely believed herself.

_**Now**_ she was on a beach.

It wasn't exactly the type of beach you'd always see. No, this was different. This is why she was here.

The sand was blue. But a beautiful, piercing blue. And it felt like water. It ran through her fingers feeling like liquid, yet it was grainy.

And the sky was beige. Just like the sand was supposed to be. The sun was a bright pink colour and oddly shaped purple clouds dotted the sky.

In all honesty, she liked the mountain better. On the mountain, nothing seemed to touch her but warmth.

Here she could feel everything. She could feel the sun piercing onto her skin, and the grainy water underneath her was cool. She could feel the wind which was being formed from the grainy sky and feel the fog touch the crease of her brow from the purple clouds.

It made her feel so tired. All of those feelings mushed up together. Yet, she enjoyed it. It was like being tired, but still being in bed. And no one was forcing her out of it.

No one ever could.

* * *

Brandon sat on the couch cross-legged. His face was buried into the two of his hands. He could feel the sweat laying still on his forehead, behind his ears, under his arms.

It's been four hours since Stef and Lena left to go to the emergency room to meet up with Robert. Robert. Brandon didn't even wanna speak his name. Just feeling the name in muttered in his mouth didn't help. He couldn't imagine how hos mothers were holding up.

Suddenly, Brandon heard footsteps go down the stairs. Light footsteps. _Shit,_ it was Jude. He was no looking forward to this confrontation. Brandon instantly stood, making his way to the kitchen where he found the boy take out a glass of water.

When he saw Brandon, Jude jumped in surprise. "Hey," he said questioningly. "Why are you awake?"

_Lie, Brandon._ Brandon thought to himself. _It would make it so much easier for the both of you if you just lied._ But Brandon didn't lie. First off, he wasn't that type of person. And second, Jude was smart. He'd figure it out. And even if he didn't, it would cause problems between them if he kept secrets about Callie. He still wasn't pleased about all those kisses.

"Well the phone rang at night with an important call and Mom's had to leave, and she woke me up just to tell you guys they left in case you woke up," Brandon says. It wasn't exactly a lie. "In the middle of the night? Where'd they go that was so important?"

"The emergency room," Brandon says it so nonchalantly, Jude laughed because he thought he was joking at first. But he wasn't. He wasn't joking. And then when he noticed, his face fell.

"Shit Brandon, who's in the emergency room?" Jude asked worriedly, placing the cup down. He had a panicked look in his eyes. "Mariana, Jesus. Are they alright?"

"Jude," Brandon said placing a hand on his shoulder gently. "Calm down, alright. They're fine."

"Well who is it?" Brandon didn't know how to answer, because he knew the boy would figure it out. And then, he did. The second he even thought of the possibility, he took a step back.

"Is it- its Callie isn't it! It's Callie!" Jude exclaimed, jumping from his spot, his face filled with fear and worry. "What happened to her?"

"She got into a car accident," Brandon whispered, sitting on the stool Jude was previously sitting on. "One car crashed into hers, and then the car in back crashed into them because of the abrupt stop."

Jude didn't know what to say. There were so many things going through his mind at the moment. Was she okay? How did it even happen? Why would she even be out so late? Is she _dead?_

The thought of all those opportunities made him feel like he was drowning into them, one possibility over the next. He sat down next to Brandon, and before he could even tell what he was doing, he let out a chocked out sob and buried his face into his hands.

"She's going to die!" He exclaimed loudly, his words muffled by his hands. Brandon was positive that he heard feet upstairs hit the floor, and it was straight from Mariana's room. "Just like our Mom!"

"What?" Brandon's head snapped back to look at him. And then Brandon remembered how their mother died of a car accident. Oh crap. Brandon couldn't imagine how he was feeling. A car crash killed his mom, so he must think it's going to kill his sister, too. "Jude, no. Callie isn't going to die I promise."

"Why would Callie die?" A panicked voice asked making their way into sight. Mariana showed into the kitchen making her way in front of the two of them. "What happened is she okay?"

"Callie got into a car accident," Brandon said, placing a hand on Jude's shoulders as the boy still cried loudly. "Yeah, and she's going to die!" Jude exclaimed, tears evident in his dark eyes. Mariana looked taken aback. And without further a due, she started tearing up.

"What do you mean? Where are Moms?" She asks, clutching onto her pyjama top, her nails digging into the fabric. Brandon explained the events of the night to her meticulously, also trying to comfort Jude who was crying freely now.

Eventually, both Mariana and Jude had moved to the couch, crying as Brandon paced back and forth with the phone is his hands. Jesus had come down too now, and after another explanation he sat himself onto the floor, his back against the couch, and he rocked back and forth gently.

Brandon didn't know what to do. Everyone seemed so dazed and afraid, it was a fear he didn't know how to react to. When Stef had gotten shot, Lena and Mike were there and in charge of them. They knew what to do, and what to say. But now, Brandon was absolutely speechless. He knew how to comfort people in small situations. But not in _these_ kind of situations.

Simply just watching them sent remorse into his body. Jude had his knees pulled up to his chest and his head was buried into them, his body was shaking and every now and then they could hear muffled sobs. Mariana was crying lightly, but held her phone tightly in his hand, a blanket wrapped tightly around her as she stared straight at the wall intently. And Jesus just kept going back and forth slowly, his eyes down on the ground and his head shaking left and right.

Suddenly, Brandon heard the familiar ring of the phone. At first everyone let it ring, just staring at one another, but after a third ring, Brandon answered in a panicked voice.

"Mom?" At first all he heard was the harsh breathing of Stef's breathe on the other line, and he got scared. Why wasn't she speaking? Was Callie alright? Was Jude right, would the girl really have to die like her mother, both of them young and beautiful.

"Brandon. Brandon honey, the doctor just told us that Callie is feeling a little better. She's still sleeping though, but he said there's a good chance of her waking up."

"And the chances of her not?" He asked softly, barely intelligible.

"Love, it's a 50/50 chance."

* * *

**She **was in a house now. It was a familiar place. The kitchen was wide and the sun was shining brightly though the wide window. Everything was open. Almost everything at least.

After looking around one more time, she noticed so much familiarity. The living room was open to both the kitchen and dining room. The TV was small but it was on her favourite childhood show; SpongeBob.

And then she realized it. The light drapes, the drawings hung onto the fridge with magnets, pictures of her family were everywhere. She was home. The home she hadn't been to in years.

Suddenly she realized she was sitting at the dining table. That didn't seem to be where she was before…

And then she saw it. She saw a face. She saw such a familiar face that she was afraid wouldn't be familiar anymore. And at first, it almost wasn't.

"Mom?" The voice didn't come out of her mouth, but echoed throughout her head loudly along with all the emptiness she currently carried. Yet her mother heard her.

"Callie," Colleen said affectionately, the hand reaching out to touch her cheek from across the small table. Instinctively, she leaned it to it.

"Am I dead?" She asked softly, the words still into her head. She expected to feel so much right now. The moment she'd reunite with her mother, she thought she'd have too much to tell her, so much to explain, to express.

But now, all she felt was familiarity. It was like she hadn't left at all. Like her mother had just gotten home from work and she saw her this exact morning. And Callie tried. She tried to feel something, to ask something else, but her mind wouldn't let her. It was like trying to get out of the ocean when being pulled down, your arms attached by two heavy rocks.

"Do you want to be?" Colleen asked quietly, her words only being hear in Callie's head. What kind of question was that? Of course she didn't? Right?

"No," Callie echoed throughout her mind. "I mean, yes. No, I mean no… I- I don't know." She looks up to her mother. Colleen's brown locks fell down her back effortlessly and her white dress enhanced her tanned skin. They really did look alike.

"Callie," Colleen said kindly, a light smile tugging at her lips. "I can't decide for you. But I will give you a hint. People love you, more people will love you."

"But I want to be with you," Callie echoes, the words lasting longer than the others had.

"And I want to be with you. But I want you to have your chance. You have so much to achieve, so much love to come," Colleen promised, grasping onto Callie's surprisingly calm hands. And still, Callie can barely feel conscience. Nothing she wants to say is coming out properly. Only what she thinks she needs to say.

"Why didn't you chose to stay with us then?" Callie asks clearly, the only thing she wanted to say so badly actually managing to escape her mouth. Maybe she needed it just as much as she wanted it. "Jude and I, we needed you. We got sent into so much crap because of you!"

"Callie, if I could've had the choice I would've," she explains, gentle despite her daughter's tone of voice. "But not everyone gets to have to choice. That's not how it works."

"Then how does it work?" Callie asks lightly, her hands clutching onto her mother's. She can feel her hands, but at the same time she _can't._

"I can't explain that to you, my darling girl," Callie says softly, and then her face is hit with realization. "Oh my, my time is almost up! Alright Callie you have to listen."

Callie doesn't really know what to ask or do, so she just nods quickly.

"You chose. You can stay like this for a while longer for now, but eventually you'll have to choose. Remember, I love you, but you have so much ahead of you… so much good ahead…" And then she slowly disappears, leaving only the small echoes into Callie's brain.

"Mom!" Callie yells loud, standing from the chair, running around the house, yelling her name over and over. And for some reason, now she can feel it again, now that she's gone. She can feel was she wanted to say.

Callie runs around the house, yelling out for someone, Donald, Colleen, Jude. She even calls out for herself. But no one answers, no one but her own brain crying and screeching. Callie was happy about the loneliness before, but now, not for any longer.

And then as Callie sinks to the floor in the middle of the hall, falling onto her bottom, she starts sobbing. And not in her head. It was out loud; she could hear herself clearly.

Suddenly she hears a quiet voice, a familiar voice_, two_ familiar voices speak to her. And without any hesitation, she knew whose voices the belonged to.

_Callie, Love. It's okay, it's okay. You're alright now. We're here. We won't leave you, we promise._

_You heard her, we won't leave you. We love you, you're going to be fine. Don't give up, Baby. _

And for the first time in all her moments today, she's never felt this much comfort.

* * *

"Callie, Love. It's okay, it's okay. You're alright now. We're here. We won't leave you, we promise," Stef says softly, running her hands into the girl's silky hair. The tubes and wires attached to her scared the two of them at first, but just seeing her breathing made them feel comfort.

"You heard her, we won't leave you. We love you, you're going to be fine. Don't give up, Baby," Lena says calmly, her hand stroking Callie's arm softly, the other clutching her wife's from across the bed.

Stef and Lena looked up to each other, so much emotion into their faces. But the only thing on their mind right now, was that the three of them were alone and that they'd be there for Callie no matter what. No matter what.

**Tell me what you thought! You're feedback means the world to me! Thanks for reading guys! **


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I really hope you enjoy. Sorry for any spelling errors, this was written quickly! Thank you! **

**The **wind blew in multiple directions. Her hair flew everywhere. One piece blowing into her face, another piece blowing in an uncomfortable angle.

She ran her hands over her tanned arms which were filled with thousands of Goosebumps. The girl's eyes felt dry and cold.

This was different than usual. Her scenarios would always be comforting and warm. But this one wasn't comforting at all.

All she felt was cold. There was an odd pang of pain and fear in her heart. But she couldn't place why it was there in the first place.

There shouldn't be any reason of fear. This was supposed to be comforting.

Were these dreams trying to scare her off the make her decide her choice sooner? To rush her? Or to warn her?

Callie walked through the dark cave wearing shorts and a tank top, her hands hugging her cold body tightly.

Although she tried to look for some sort of ending to the odd cave, she couldn't see anything but an endless path of nothing and darkness. Everything was dark.

There was one candle every few metres, but it was useless compared to the pitch black of the odd cave.

She heard water leaking down like a half closed faucet. A drip every now and then. Every time one fell, her goose bumps would seem even rougher, yet the fear in her chest wouldn't seem to increase.

The girl kept walking aimlessly, every step she took her chest felt heavier and heavier. It felt like every time she moved another weight would be added onto her shoulders. Mentally, she was slouching.

The closer she would get to walking forward in the empty cave, she'd feel it getting wider. The closer she got, the more she saw.

Eventually, she could make out some sort of wall separating the width of the cave. Callie started running.

She didn't know why. And she wasn't forcing herself. Her body had just started to move on its own. Her body having no control over her mind.

She ran without issue. No heavy breathing, no loud noises. It was just as quiet as when she ran. She didn't even hear the tapping of her feet on the hard rock floor beneath her.

She ran faster now. A voice in her head telling her to escape. A voice so familiar. A voice that wasn't hers.

"Callie!" The voice shrieked. "Get out of there and come out here!"

She tried so hard. She ran faster, her mind cooperating with her body finally. _Run!_ She told herself, her hair flying back and her arms swinging freely.

"Run!" She yelled in the cave, her words echoing throughout the dark emptiness. No one hearing her, but her herself.

And Callie understood now, as she ran into the left side of the separation, where the light seemed to begin to creak out.

This wasn't a cave.

This was her own mind. And she was trapped.

She was trapped in her own mind, and she couldn't escape.

* * *

Mariana gasped loudly when she felt Callie's cold hand suddenly squeeze onto hers. Lena and Stef had went to go get something to eat.

They hadn't eaten anything more than a fruit since they've arrived here. The two women were too focused on Callie's condition to do anything else. They were doing anything they could to make sure she would seem the slightest bit okay. A few hours Lena would stay with her, the other few Stef. Even Robert stayed. But Stef and Lena insisted on staying longer. When the girl would wake up, they wanted Callie to see them first, not him.

Mariana had finally convinced them to go eat something. She said she'd keep an eye on her, and that it's not like Callie was going to disappear anywhere in the first place. Although they were extremely reluctant, they agreed. It took them a while but the four children managed.

This was the third time they saw Callie like this. It's been a whole week she's been in this coma. Her chances of waking up did get higher over the few days. It's a 55/50 chance now. Although it's five percent more, it's still more.

When they saw Callie like that for the first time, not one of them could say they felt scared. They all were afraid. There were what seemed to be dozens of tubes attached to her, one helping her breath, another in her veins. They all were supposed to be doing something to help.

Marianna always thought Callie could've handled everything fine on her own. Callie even said it herself. But this was different. She needed this to survive. If Callie were here, she'd probably insist that someone should take off all of these useless wires from her body.

The first time they all saw her like this, everyone had their own terrified reaction. Jude and Mariana got teary, Brandon wouldn't stop asking questions and Jesus just looked really pissed. He walked around the room muttering swear words to himself. In all honesty, it was sort of funny.

Although they hated seeing her like this, no one wanted to leave her. They all just stood there looking at her body which no longer looked like her body. It looked like someone else using her body. It didn't feel like that was Callie. Callie was strong and brave, she didn't need anything silly like wires keeping her breathing. She'd use her own darn lungs, her own heart and let everything work the way she wanted it to.

Stef and Lena were forced to repeat several times to Brandon how they wanted him to take the rest of them home, but he didn't seem to understand them. His eyes were too busy staring down at the girl he felt like he no longer knew.

Eventually, the boy gave in, his good boy attitude helping out with this type of command. All of the kids went home silent that night, the only thing making noise were the other cars on the road and the radio playing songs which seemed too happy for their situation.

That's what sucked about the world. Whether or not you're in pain, whether or not you're crawling on the floor crying, suffering, the world would just carry on with its business. The world would always just continue with whatever was going to happen. It would just watch you. And you would feel like dying, but someone else could be the happiest they've ever been. It just wasn't fair.

And now, as Marianna sat alone in the room, her other siblings out eating, she just felt the most hope she's felt in the entire week. Callie had just squeezed her hand. She didn't know what to say, or do. So all she did was sit there uncomfortably.

"Callie," she said, starting to repeat the words she'd said before. "Wake up! Ge out of there!" Mariana slowly started poking her, her forehead, her cheek, her eyebrow.

"Callie!" she whispered loudly. "Can you really hear me?" Mariana poked her harder, hoping for the girl to release an annoyed groan. "C-a-l-l-i-e."

"What the hell are you doing?" Mariana turned around to face Jesus and Jude, Jesus' hands on his chest with a smug smirk and Jude with a confused look on his face.

"She squeezed my hand!" Mariana insisted loudly, a smile creeping onto her face. "Sure she did," Jesus laughed walking into the room, a muffin in his hand. "Mariana, you probably just flinched and thought it was her."

"No!" Mariana yelled loudly, standing from her chair to prove a point. "I swear she did." Jesus laughed louder, taking a seat across from the girl. Jude walked forward, sitting on the bed by Callie's face, not bothering to listen to Mariana and Jesus but just looked at the monitor which told how his sister's heart was.

"Okay, Callie squeezed your hand, just like I saw a unicorn in our backyard! It was rainbow colored and had wings so it could fly!" Jesus' tone of voice made everything just seem so much more cheerful that Jude couldn't help but manage a giggle.

"I swear she did! You just are pissed that she did it to me and not to you when you started snapping your fingers and singing in her face yesterday," Mariana answered back cheekily, sitting back on the chair, slouching slightly.

"Wait up, Jesus did what?" Jude asked, looking at his older brother with a large grin spread across his face.

"I thought we agreed on not speaking about that," Jesus said, sighing gently. "And, nothing happened Jude. Nothing that you have to talk about."

Jude and Mariana stiffed a laugh, and Jude could swear he even heard Callie laugh inside her own damn head.

"Anyways Mariana," Jesus started again, biting into the carrot muffin. "Even if she squeezed your hand, I don't think poking her would wake her up."

"You never know," Mariana explained, looking at her twin with wide eyes. Jesus just rolled his eyes, devouring his last bite of the muffin.

"I'm going to get another muffin," Jesus said standing from his seat. "Want me to call a nurse over so you can tell her about the hand squeezing and he unicorns?"

"Yes actually," Mariana answered back with a large grin, wrapping her sweater tighter around her body. Jesus just rolled his eyes and left the room, leaving Mariana alone with Jude.

The boy just stared intently at his sister, following the wires from the machine to which part of her body they connected to. He really was taking this hard. He hadn't spoken about his mother and how much these accidents resembled each other since the first night. Although he didn't say anything, everyone knew that he was thinking about it, and everyone tried to comfort him. The problem was that the only person who could comfort him in a situation like this, was going through the situation herself.

"Is it true?" Jude asked quietly, his words barely intelligible. "Is it true that she squeezed your hand?" Mariana felt like her heart had melted. Was he angry that she hadn't squeezed his hand? Was he just tired?

"Yeah," Mariana answered honestly. She didn't have time for lies. No one did right now. "She did." Jude's lips started to curl up into a smile, his eyes darting back to his sister.

"Do you think she'll squeeze my hand, too?" He asked quietly, looking into Mariana's dark eyes. "I don't see why we can't try," Mariana answered back, smiling herself.

Slowly, Jude moved closer to Callie, slipping his warm lively hand into his sister's cold one. He just sat there, leaving his hand onto Callie's feeling scared. _Why are you scared?_ The boy asked himself. _This is Callie. You shouldn't be scared of Callie._

"How'd she squeeze your hand?" Jude asked Mariana questioningly, looking up to Mariana who sat on the other side of the bed, holding Callie's other hand. "I started speaking to her. Maybe you should speak to her, too."

Jude just sat there at first, looking at Callie. She didn't even really look like Callie anymore. She looked like a stranger who was attached to machines to keep herself alive. She didn't look like the strong girl who would hold herself together with one arm and hold everyone else together with the other. That wasn't Callie. That wasn't his older sister. So how could he talk to stranger? How could he talk to someone he felt like he didn't know.

"I know you feel like this isn't her. Because of all the machines keeping her alive," Mariana said softly, obviously catching onto his attitude. "But deep down, and to be honest, not even that deep, it's still her."

"It's still the girl who protected you through everything. The girl who tried to do whatever it could to make you safe. It's still the girl that ran away for you," Mariana continued. "It's still the girl who thought I was a snob when we first met. It's still her. It'll always be her. You're not talking to a stranger, you're talking to _Callie."_

Jude just looked back down to Callie. This was still his sister. This would always be his sister. So he spoke to her the way he always would. "Hey Callie," his voice soft with emotion. "I hope you can actually hear me. We all miss you. I don't know why you were in a car with some random guy, but you must've had a good reason. Or a really stupid one. There's not really an in between with you." Mariana laughs at his last words.

"I just hope that you wake up," suddenly, he starts getting chocked up, tears starting to dorm in his chocolate eyes. "I don't want you do die. I don't want you to end up like Mom. I want you to wake up, and I want you to live with us and stay with us, and be safe. I don't want you to die and then I'm going to have to lose someone else who's always been there for me. I just want you to wake up. I _need_ you to." This was the first time he'd mentioned his mother in days.

By now, the boy was crying freely, tears flowing down his cheeks, Mariana starting to tear up as well, but not saying anything. She didn't really know what to say. "Please," Jude said one last time, the word coming out as a sob. "We all need you. Wake up!"

And just as his warm tear falls onto the girl's hand, he feels some sort of warm bolt flow through her hand, and before he even knew what happened, she squeezed his hand.

* * *

**She **heard him louder than anyone else today. His words just echoed throughout her mind like Colleen's words did.

There was no stronger pain she's felt in all of these scenarios than the one now. The struggle of watching and hearing the boy she's wanted to protect her whole life call out for her, and cry for her was so painful.

She wanted nothing more than to hug him tightly in her arms. But she couldn't. She couldn't reach out to him.

There was no greater pain than having to watch him suffer. No greater pain than not being able to comfort him.

It was as though she was being held up by chains. They held her arms back from reaching the light which would wake her up.

_Wait!_ A loud voice called out. It was deep and profound. _You'll have more to see before you choose._

And this was the first time she hasn't ever felt so comfortable with a voice she didn't recognize.

* * *

Stef poured the coffee into the mug without paying any attention. Her head was looking up, her eyes tired and drowsy. She'd barely gotten any sleep. Even if she was tired, she just _couldn't._ Every time she tried to relax her mind the only thing her mind would think about was Callie. Even when she tried to push it away, it'd cross over her mind with a painful pang in the heart.

"Shit!" Stef groans loudly when she feels the burning of the coffee fall onto her hand. She poured too much. With loud muttering Stef threw the Styrofoam cup away. The women slowly walked back to where Lena sat.

She looked just as worn out as Stef. She had heavy bags under her eyes, her clothes were slightly stained with coffee, her hair up carelessly. Lena, being the ultimate nurturer, doesn't only feel the need to be there for Callie, but for all her children.

Of course, Stef feels the same way, but every time she's try and comfort any of them they would just cry or lean heir head on her shoulder. Lena could just really talk to them. Her words would be soft and comforting, asking them how they feel. And they'd always answer honestly and quietly. It helped them out deeply.

"Where's the coffee?" Lena asked as Stef sat down next to her, slouching, rubbing her eyes. "It spilled over and there's no more left. They have to make more." Lena just nodded slowly. They've been trying to stay supportive in a physical way, but it's been hard lately. The whole situation was just so difficult.

"Did you hear about the boy that was in the car with Callie?" Lena asked calmly, biting into a bagel. Stef shook her head heavily. "No, what happened to him?"

"He went into an operation. He went into a seizure a few hours after he woke up. They just brought him into the operation room a few hours ago." Stef just raised her eyebrows. "His family isn't holding up very well. I met his poor father, he looked exhausted."

"And we don't," Stef answered back too quickly. Exhaustion has been occupying most of her attitude these days and her patience was at zero. She just wanted her daughter to wake up.

"Stef, I know it's been hard but I don't appreciate it when you behave this way. We're both going through this together. You're not the only one affected by this, Love." Stef just sighed loudly, reaching over to grab Lena's hand.

"I know, Love. I'm sorry," Stef answered, a weak smile creeping upon her face. "I just don't understand what she was doing with this boy. I get it she was at a friend's house but she barely knew them. She should've know better."

"It's not her fault for actually trying to make friends," Lena explains calmly. "Isn't that what we've been trying to do this whole time?" Stef just looks down. Was she really just trying to make Stef and Lena happy with her? Proud of her? _My poor baby_ Stef thought.

"I know that, Lena," Stef insisted. "But either way, she barely knew them and Robert should've never agreed." Lena suddenly went from a calm look to giving Stef a glare.

"We agreed that we weren't going to blame him, Stef!" Lena exclaimed, crossing her hands across her chest. "It's not his fault he was trying to please her." Stef just sat a little taller.

"I understand that Lena but either way Callie was his responsibility and he should've been more careful and gotten information on who these children were!" Stef exclaimed loudly.

"Stef it's not their fault, the man in the other car was drunk! Not them! And Robert was just trying to make her happy. She was giving him a hard time and he tried doing something to please her!" Lena explained. "I understand that you're angry because he took her away, and I will never forgive him for that. But I do understand how he was trying to get her to at least appreciate him, and he was trying to do as much as he could."

Stef stood from her chair. "I can't believe you're on his side!" Lena looked completely insulted. She stood from her chair as well, noticing Brandon in a far off distance. "I am absolutely not on his side! I'm on Callie's side!"

And without another word, Lena walked away leaving Stef in the middle of cafeteria with people watching her. "Oh will you all mind your own business!" She exclaimed, everyone suddenly looking away, frightened.

"Mom?" Brandon came forward, sitting next to her. "What just happened?" Stef just sat back down, placing her head in her hand.

And without further a due, she cried.

* * *

**Tell me how you like the chapter! Thanks to all of you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9

Brandon's eyes looked down upon her slightly cut face. Her hair was tied up, her head laying heavily onto the flattened pillow. Her hands were clenched onto wet towels that would keep her hydrated. Brandon's fingers slowly ran over one of the tube's that lead into her veins.

It was almost like looking at a robot. All these wires and tubes were keeping her alive. Working her body. This was a robot, this wasn't Callie. Reluctantly, he slowly ran his fingers near her face, brushing the stray strand of hair away carefully. His fingers lingered onto her hair and he left them there, not moving them, but laying them there gently.

After holding his mother while she sobbed in the dining area of the hospital for a few minutes, a nurse directed them away, explaining it was disturbing the others. He had helped her towards Callie's room, but then he figured it wasn't exactly ideal in this exact moment.

Luckily, Sharon had arrived and taken matters into her own hands, leaving Brandon with the distant echoes of his mother's cries throughout his mind. He didn't really know what to do. Walking back towards the dining room where the rest of his siblings were, eating quietly, he didn't want to be with them right now.

Without any other place to disappear to, Brandon headed towards Callie's room, the only place he oddly felt comfortable in. Although he thought it would be much worse to watch her connected to all these tubes and wires, it was quite the opposite. Robot Callie was the closest thing he got to comfort lately.

His mothers were too tired and worried. Jude wasn't speaking much other than for necessary words of "I'm hungry," or "let's leave." Marianna was too stressed out lately, reflecting Stef and Lena's behaviour. She was too quick when it came to answers, and said things that weren't exactly necessary. And Jesus was just always finding a way to keep busy. If he was finished doing something, he's immediately have to occupy himself by doing something else.

Robot Callie was the only person who didn't bother him. And she was a hell of a good listener, too. One of the perks of having someone you care for in a coma was that they were forced to hear your awful babbling without any interruptions. The bad thing was, they couldn't give back advice. But maybe he didn't really need advice. He just needed to speak out loud to someone who wasn't himself.

This was the closes thing he got.

Brandon's fingers started running through her hair lightly, not forced but almost as an instinct. He wondered if she could feel it. If she could hear him.

"You know, Robot Callie," Brandon whispered calmly, moving his fingers down to grasp onto her hand lightly. "I think I like you better than normal Callie."

And then he laughed to himself. But not the happy laugh. The forced, ironic laugh you sometimes get when you're angry or sad. He opened his mouth again, the words falling out without any thought.

"Don't tell her."

* * *

**Brandon's** dead laugh occupied the skies tonight. It was a repetitive wave of voices. Different and then the same.

She laid on a bed tonight. Her hair was spread out across the silky silver pillow forming a dark swirl of curls over them. She was spread out like a starfish, her legs and arms wide apart from her body.

She was in a room as well. An empty room with nothing but the bed and her own presence. A disgustingly boring shade of grey was colored onto the walls and the floors were a dark wood.

The stars were the only thing bright in this scenario.

The room, although it had simply normal walls and floors, didn't have a roof.

Surprisingly, it wasn't cold. Just chilly, yet she was coated in heavy wool blankets.

The sky was dotted in so many bright stars that she could barely see any of the darkness.

Every once and a while, she'd get this scenario.

And every time, the skies were filled with different voices of the people she cared about.

The first voice she heard was Mariana's. She was speaking to her quickly and loudly, babbling about things she didn't really want to hear. The stars slowly turned a dark red, reflecting upon her attitude.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, and found some odd strength in her body she never knew she could have.

She felt Mariana's clammy hand grasp onto hers, and without further a due, to shut her up, she squeezed it.

She didn't really know how she did it at first. Some weird reflex? Had she flinched? Whatever happened, it worked because Mariana's words were barely echoes in the bright sky. And then, the scenario changed, as if the world holding her had turned around completely.

A few hours later, she felt as though she was dropped back down on the bed, and a soft, familiar voice flooded the skies with millions of stars. So many they overlapped one another, finding comfort onto the other.

She knew whose voice it was. It was Jude's.

His voice was steady at first, Callie's ears open wide and her eyes staring blankly at the star-filled sky. She tried to comprehend every word she heard, grasping onto them with all of her strength.

When his voice started to shake was when she began to feel as if she was shaking as well. It was as though their attitudes had an odd mirror effect on her own. It was as though she were on a boat and the waves were getting bigger and stronger by the second.

And then, when she heard the soft cries which belonged to him, she clutched onto the bed tightly, her eyes closing lightly, only listening to his soft, echoless words.

These were the only words she could truly hear, the ones who didn't continue in echoes.

And it was when she felt rain fall upon her soft skin, rain which felt like soft, salty tears, she found that strength again. The strength which was in the deepest parts of her heart. And she squeezed his hand.

It was bitter-sweet when the scenario had changed to a warm day in the park filled with greens and yellow colours. She could still hear his shaky voice in the back of her mind.

So now, listening to Brandon make corny, idiotic jokes made her want to wake up more than anything. There was just one odd piece holding her back.

Who would've guessed the cord holding her up from falling back into consciousness was this strong?

* * *

Lena splashed the cool tap water onto her warn out face. The bathroom at public places usually smelt awful and looked dirty. You'd assume worse for a hospital. I mean, it was filled with sick people trying to heal, or maybe even trying to die.

Yet it wasn't like that at all.

It was clean, the mirrors shined brightly, the light hanging from the wall reflecting onto it. The sinks were a pearly white and the bathrooms were clean as well. The room smelt like Febreze and cleaning products.

Although the smell wasn't dirty, it was still disturbing. It smelt like _hospital_. Nobody enjoyed the smell of hospital.

Lena walked out of the bathroom, tying up her hair quickly. She was on the search for Brandon. No one had seen him since Stef had her meltdown. They looked everywhere. The only place left was Callie's room, but it wasn't visiting hours. And Brandon wasn't one to break the rules.

Lena suddenly felt like a light had opened in her head, and without further thought, she ran to Callie's room. Totally unfocused, as Lena turned the corner she bumped into two girls.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lena apologized quickly stopping, cracking a half smile at the two teenagers. They seemed nice, yet tired as well.

"Its fine," One of them explained, her red hair sticking out in odd angles. The other one, with dyed blue hair was nodding aimlessly behind her, looking dazed.

"Alexis, Tessa!" A man's voice busted behind Lena loudly, causing her to turn around.

"Mr. Evans!" The redhead exclaims throwing herself into his arms, the other girl following reluctantly. "How's Axton doing, is he holding up?"

_Axton. Mr. Evans. _These names were familiar. After looking towards the man, she immediately remembered. Axton was the boy in the car with Callie. The one who before anything had crashed, had apparently thrown an arm over her body protectively.

He tried to protect her. He tried to protect to her daughter. Lena felt nothing but respect for him and for his family. She could only hope Axton was doing alright. That he was breathing and alive.

"They took him out of surgery," Mr. Evans explained, both girls staring at him intently, wide eyes and soft faces. "He'll be alright." The second those words were said, both of the girls let out deep breaths and fell into one another's arms.

Although Lena was happy for him, for the boy who tried to protect her, she still felt jealous. She couldn't imagine how it would be if this boy got to live, yet her daughter, the one who was probably reluctant to even get into his car, would die.

She wanted his family to be happy, but of course, being human means being selfish. And being selfish means wanting more for you and your family than other's. But it was human nature. All families, all people, want their families to live over other's.

Lena wasn't a selfish person. But now, she couldn't help but feel like the most selfish of them all, wondering why he wasn't in the coma, yet Callie was. It wasn't fair. And Lena and Stef and the rest all had to live with unfairness of the world, while The Evan's family got to keep their son.

"What about the other girl?" The one with the blue hair had spoken up loudly. Lena's eyes opened wider in shock, looking at them even more. _How had they known Callie? Were these the girls who Callie wanted to hang out with? _

"Callie? Is Callie alright? Oh God, I hope she's alright. Axton wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he lived but someone he barely knew hadn't." Lena smiled half-heartedly. She looked at the girl's face, worry occupying all her expressions. These were good people.

Before Mr. Evans would even notice Lena was there, she walked away only hearing his distant words explaining how she was in a coma, and the gasps of the girls who Callie wanted to spend time with.

The girls who could cost Callie her life. Lena slowly proceeded towards Callie's room, running into a nurse along the way.

"Umm, I know that these aren't visiting hours, but I think my son is in my daughters room right now, is it alright if I can check?" Lena asks rubbing her clammy hand over her neck.

"Ten minutes," The nurse says flatly, her eyes never leaving the paper work she's working on. With a quick 'thank you' Lena heads to Callie's room, running through the empty halls to find Brandon.

* * *

**The **cries are loud.

Fire is building up around her, no place for the girl to escape. She screams, begging for people to save her.

Calling for help, but to no one in particular.

She screams louder, pulling the hair from her head.

Words of hatred are being forged out of the fire.

"_You're nothing!"_

"_A worthless foster kid!"_

"_You're a piece of shit, Callie. Be happy someone like me wants someone like you!" _

The last words hit her the hardest, making her fall to her knees, the fire building higher. Hearing those words, the words Liam had told her before he had raped her, was like ten shots to the heart.

"_You're an ugly, fucking bitch!"_

"_A slut! I don't want a slut in my damn house!"_

"_Can you ever just do anything properly?"_

Callie falls deeper now, her hands holding her up from having her face hit the hard ground.

"Stop!" She cries loudly, the wind still swirling strong, the fire still crackling loudly, and the words still falling out quickly. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Change this! Change it now! I want to leave!"

The words become faster now.

"_Stupid girl! Don't you ever look at yourself?"_

"_Go throw the trash away! And might as well leave yourself there, too. I don't see any difference!" _

"_You're such an idiot! Your brother would be so much better off without you! Poor kid is being held back from being wanted 'cause of you!" _

"No!" Callie yelled. The words burned in a way the fire never could. It burned her soul. It burned her heart. The skies turned a mahogany red and black clouds formed over hear heads. "I said no!"

Callie's cries deepened, causing her to crumple into a little ball. Her sobs becoming louder. "Stop," she whimpered, clutching onto her mother's necklace as if it were he life line. "Please."

And then everything suddenly changed. And she saw a light.

* * *

"Brandon!" Lena exclaimed loudly, walking over towards him, anger evident in her voice. "What the hell are you doing in here? Don't you know it's not visiting hours! This isn't like you!"

Lena's eyes begin to widen, waiting for an answer. Unfortunately, the only thing she received was Brandon staring down onto Callie, no emotion, just grasping onto her hand tightly.

"You think she'll ever wake up?" Brandon asked calmly, not glancing away from his view on Callie. Lena frowned, sitting across from him on the bed, placing a hand on his tense shoulder.

"Oh Love," Lena says calmly, reaching to place her other hand over his own. "Callie is a strong girl. I'm sure she will be okay. Doesn't she always end up okay?" Brandon looks at Lena, a desperation in his eyes.

"Callie is never okay," he admits. "She was about to be adopted. Then Robert happened. Her mother died. She got raped. Now this! No she's not fine. There's a difference between acting like you're okay, and actually being okay. She's not okay."

Lena didn't know what to say. And Lena always knew what to say. Brandon's words hit her like a rock. The meaning of his words filled with nothing but honesty and pain. Because it was true.

Facing the truth was hard. And Lena wasn't even Callie. She couldn't imagine what Callie had been telling herself all this time. How could she have ended up so stable? Even though people wouldn't call her exactly stable, she was definitely stable after all she had been through.

"Maybe you should talk to her," Lena says quietly, squeezing his hand. "I was told she squeezed Jude and Mariana's hands. That's a good sign, you know. Maybe she'll even squeeze yours."

Brandon shrugged. "I've spoken to her for hours and nothing's happened. Maybe you should try." Lena just shook her head ready to deny, but a voce disturbed them.

"Brandon, Love," Stef says quietly. "Please go to the waiting room with the rest of your siblings. And I swear, next time you disappear for that long, don't expect me to be this calm."

Brandon just nodded and walked away, leaving Stef and Lena in the room alone. Stef sat where Brandon was previously sitting, placing her hand over Callie's, just like Brandon had done.

"One hell of a fighter, huh?" Stef says softly, Lena nodding in agreement. Stef's head shifted to look at Lena, who stared at Callie intently. "I'm sorry about before in the dining room. I shouldn't have said that about Robert and how Callie shouldn't have been with those other people. I was just tired and needed to let out my feelings."

"I shouldn't have walked away like that either," Lena admit, reaching out to grasp Stef's hand. "We were both having a stressful and tough time. We should've been there for each other rather than have argued. It's not only better for us, but maybe even Callie felt the tension."

Stef laughed lightly, reaching out her other hand to rub Lena's cheek. "I bet you she knows exactly what's going on." Lena laughs lightly, looking down at Callie. Before she even knows what she's doing, Lena opens her mouth and begins making promises she doesn't even know whether or not she can keep.

"If you wake up," Lena begins, brushing Callie's dark curls lightly. "I promise we'll find a way to get you back as quickly as we can." Stef looks up to Lena, nodding in agreement.

"I promise, too," Stef says, wishing that she could keep this promise more than any other one.

* * *

The

**The **light was beautiful.

It was a mixture of cool and warm colors, all of them welcoming her as though they were opening their arms.

Callie ran towards it, her hair flying back in the wind.

Laughter was present in the background, laughter of her friends and family. Laughter of all the people she's ever loved.

And not the fake, forced laughter you'd make when you'd hear a bad joke but don't want the person to feel bad.

It was the real, genuine laughter you get when you're with people who make you laugh the most.

The laughter where you end up crying, and your stomach hurts from too much movement.

And Callie can hear music, too. The song her mother always used to sing to her playing comfortably in the background.

The words echoing into her mind.

_**And all the roads we have to walk are winding**_

_**And all the lights that lead us there are blinding**_

_**There are many things that I would like to say to you**_

_**But I don't know how**_

Callie runs faster, the music getting louder the closer to the light she gets.

_Because maybe_

_**You're gonna be the one that saves me**_

_**And after all**_

_**You're my wonderwall**_

Callie runs towards the light even faster, her feat burning, her head feeling like a balloon filled with helium.

_**I said maybe**_

_**You're gonna be the one that saves me**_

_**And after all**_

_**You're my wonderwall**_

Suddenly, the music stops and the light disappears. And before she can fall unconscious, she sees the smiling face of her mother, nodding lightly and whispering tree small words.

_**I said maybe**_

_**You're gonna be the one that saves me**_

_**You're gonna be the one that saves me**_

_**You're gonna be the one that saves me**_

* * *

Lena and Stef get up reluctantly, the two of them holding hands, their backs facing Callie.

"Let's go before that nurse with the stern look murders us," Stef says quietly. Lena nods and laughs in agreement.

Lena looks back one more time at Callie, squinting as she notices something a little differently. Ignoring the feeling, which is probably wrong, she turns around opening the door.

And just before Stef and Lena can walk out they hear a deep, broken voice. A voice that doesn't sound like they've spoken in forever.

"Moms…"

* * *

**Ok so thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you review and hopefully another chapter will be posted soon! Also the song is called Wonderwall by Oasis. **


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